


Forever Marked

by ElevenGaleStorms



Series: Unforeseen-verse [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Crossover, Multi, Platonic Relationship, Red String of Fate, Romantic Relationship, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Warning: Lots of Genderbending in many of the chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-11-13 23:30:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 29,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElevenGaleStorms/pseuds/ElevenGaleStorms
Summary: #1: Outfit Swap AU; "Her best friend attacked Arno in her sleep, an infamous Templar is apparently her soulmate, and the Assassin Council thinks that they gave Arno away to her soulmate like the fantasy stories tell of an innocent woman getting sacrificed to the monstrous dragon.", Platonic Shay Cormac x Fem!Arno Dorian#2: Colorblind AU, "In which Arno is awkward, Gabriel (Axeman) is just going about his business, and Shay is amused. Oh, and Elise is desperately trying to have Arno be more feminine to no avail." Gabriel Bardou (Axeman) x Fem!Arno Dorian x Shay Cormac#3: Compass AU; "Aiden could have found her a long time ago, but excuses were made for his lack of searching. Desmond just wished that he had found her sooner.", Fem!Desmond Miles x Aiden Pearce.#4: Feelings AU; "Living the memories of your male ancestor was awkard and strange enough. But finding out that the very same ancestor was your soulmate was an entirely different thing for one Callum Lynch.", Fem!Callum Lynch x Aguilar De NerhaWarning: Gender-bending is in many of the chapters. This fic is not for those who dislike or are opposed to gender-bending characters.





	1. Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I know that this may seem like a pretty odd platonic ship, but I couldn't stop myself from writing this. I've played Assassin's Creed: Rogue and am currently playing Unity. This story of mine was inspired by Shay's Templar outfit, which Arno can wear in Unity. Anyway, I hope this isn't too bad. I'll be writing the next Soulmate AUs once I finish this one. Please let me know if you like this or if you want to request something just comment. I take Assassin's Creed x Reader, OC, and another character as well. Just in case you are interested in requesting, I do prioritize requests and will work on them soon if not immediately after the request is submitted. By the way, I do apologize if the characters are out of character in here. Thanks for reading!

"Arno, you traitor!"

"Wha-!" The assassin lunged his hidden blade towards a still sleepy Arno. The female stumbled in surprise but quickly regained her standing. Why were her fellow assassins doing this? Did they finally find out her real gender?

"I can't believe you joined the Templars!" Gabriel resorted to using his sword. Her friend's words bewildered Arno. She sure as heck didn't join the Templars!

As Gabriel attacked her, Arno realized that this was just a joke albeit a not very funny one to be exact. "Hahaha! What's with assassins and their bad jokes?" She burst out laughing.

"Now you mock me! I-I trusted you." Arno's wide grin faded when Gabriel brought out his ax. Their comrades used to call Gabriel the 'axeman' because of his proficiency with his ax. Oh dear, he actually was serious.

"Listen, Gabriel! I'm not a Templar. Why would you even think that?" The man angrily gestured at her. She looked down and saw herself clothed in black and red robes complete with the Templar cross on one of the buckles strapped across her chest.

"Nonono!" Gabriel angrily muttered, "This did not happen."

"What-!"

"I'm serious, Arno", He took a breath and continued, "This. did. not. happen."

Confused and still surprised, Arno merely nodded.

"I need to get you away from here." Enough was enough. Arno angled herself towards her friend and demanded answers.

"I've had enough of this nonsense. First, you attack me in my sleep and then you try to take me away from my home. Are you trying to have me be gone from the Brotherhood?" Arno knew that Gabriel already had knowledge of her secret, that she was a female. Counting out all that they had gone through together, it was possible for him to do this.

"Arno... Your soulmate is a Templar. And a very notorious one at that." Shock pierced Arno. Her stomach dropped as she realized that one day she might have to kill her soulmate.

Arno's words were colored in a navy blue which meant that she and her soulmate would have a platonic relationship. However, the deepness of her word's colors meant that they would have a strong relationship as well. These facts made the truth of Gabriel's words sting even more.

"Now, you understand why I need to get you away. Your soulmate is visiting Paris at this very moment." Gabriel spat out 'soulmate' disdainfully. Arno tolerated it as his entire family was killed by Templars. In fact, she felt relieved that her friend didn't hate her for having a Templar as a soulmate.

"Ye-I mean no, I still want to meet them" If the look in his eyes could be translated from 'Gabriel language' to words it would mean 'over my dead body'.

The scary thing was that Arno knew that was all too true.

* * *

 

"Did you hear what I just said, Assassins. Let. me. meet. them." Nervous looks were shared between the said people. Arno was already a fellow assassin and they would prefer to not lose her to the Templars. The Brotherhood had seen how much destruction an Assassin turned Templar could cause.

To let her meet her soulmate, a Templar no less, could increase the chance of her switching sides.

"Mr. Cormac, I think we should negotiate on... ah, different terms." Shay stared stoically at them.

"I think not, Assassin. No meeting, no deal." The Templar knew that peace between Templars and Assassins were important to this Brotherhood. He, in a way, respected them for that.

Instead of searching for his soulmate himself, he decided that he would offer them a deal. Find and let him meet them and Shay would use his influence as a Master Templar to establish peace between the two organizations.

Speaking of his soulmate, Shay shifted in what could momentarily be considered his clothes. Bindings wrapped uncomfortably around his chest constricted his breathing.

Blue robes that obviously belonged to an Assassin with its hood. His soulmate must have quite a story to tell as he did not understand why someone would needlessly torture themselves with the uncomfortable bindings.

Meanwhile, the Assassin Council were discussing with one another on what to do. Peace with the Templars would give them time to heal and finally focus on Paris itself. They all agreed that sacrifices must be made, and if it had to be one Arno Dorian then so be it.

"I see that you gentlemen have come to a decision."

"Yes, we have." Before they said those final blasted words, the Assassin Council closed their eyes and prayed that Charles would forgive them. Knowing the man, he probably would not. They sighed in resignation and prepared themselves for what was to come.

"Mr. Cormac, your soulmate is Arno Dorian."


	2. Unforeseen I (Axeman x Fem!Arno x Shay)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno is awkward, Gabriel (Axeman) is just going about his business, and Shay is amused. Oh, and Elise is desperately trying to have Arno be more feminine to no avail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Soulmate ‘Colorblind’ AU. Also, canon is basically disregarded in here. So this can be considered a completely or nearly completely AU. Just for fun, Shay will be a similar age to Gabriel if not slightly older by a couple of years (3-4). Also, Arno is an Apprentice in this AU.

“Are you coming or not, Apprentice?”  
  
“Y-yeah!” Arno practically stumbled over herself to follow her unofficial mentor. Shock hindered her movements as her mind caught up with the truth of her situation.  
  
Her soulmate was apparently Gabriel Bardou, her informal mentor and the infamous ‘Axeman’ of the Brotherhood.  
  
Arno was confused by the lack of a reaction on Gabriel’s face. After all, shouldn’t he at least express some kind of emotion when meeting his soulmate?  
  
She wondered how she got into this situation. It all started with a call for help by an Assassin. She and the other Apprentices came from the nearest Assassin’s Den to help with the fight. After the skirmish was over, Arno went over to Gabriel to see if he was in need of assistance. Although, she had highly doubted that at the time. Arno noticed that his hood had fallen off during the fight. Just when she opened her mouth to speak, their eyes met and color bloomed in her vision.  
  
She had gasped and stood nearly frozen at the sensation color brought to her eyes. She turned expectantly towards Gabriel and found his face to be… blank?  
  
“Novice, stop gaping like a fish.” Arno abruptly closed her mouth. Hurt settled in her being as she realized that either Gabriel was ignoring her or could already see color.

* * *

  
  
“So he just ignored you?” Arno shook her head and replied that it was more like just him not noticing it.  
  
Elise frowned. “Well, at least you probably have a second soulmate.” Arno gave an exasperated sigh at that.  
  
“Soulmates aren’t just someone to throw away if things get difficult or they don’t work out.”  
  
“”Your father obviously taught you the more romantic view of soulmates. My father, as well as I, thinks that soulmates just have a higher chance of getting along with one another than normal couples.” Arno knew that her father taught her, as Elise said, the more ‘romantic’ view of soulmates.  
  
However, what Elise didn’t know was that Eagle Vision can only be activated upon meeting your second soulmate’s eyes and also having the ability albeit dormant, to begin with. Even with the momentary peace with the Templars, Assassins had to keep their secrets and that was one of them.  
  
“Arno?” She glanced up at her best friend.  
  
Elise’s face turned serious, “I believe you should confront Gabriel about this.”, Elise sighed. “This is not just your business as well.  
  
“Must I?” Arno could just imagine the awkward conversation with him.  
  
“No, you don’t have to. What I am saying is that you should at least let him know that you guys are… you know.” Arno made a face. Who was she to know that they were actually soulmates to each other? Some people have one-sided bonds.  
  
“Judging by the look on your face, I suppose that we should discuss a more fun topic.” Elise was amused that her friend was so hung over a guy. It was good that her father was out of town.  
  
Otherwise, Gabriel might be missing a few limbs. She shook her head. Arno’s father was overprotective in both her joining the assassins and males.  
  
“How about the Templar-Assassin la réunion tonight?” Arno was desperate for a change in topic. All this talk about Gabriel and soulmates was making her feel nervous for the upcoming talk with him.  
  
“Fine, I’ll spare you the embarrassment.” Elise playfully said. A thought then came to the redhead, “Don’t tell me you’re going to wear men’s clothing to the party.”  
  
“...” Arno could offer no response to that. She always wore men’s attire to parties. She had to keep her gender a secret otherwise she would get kicked out of the Brotherhood. Nobody knew except for Elise and her father, and Arno’s father.  
  
Elise tsked. Her dear friend had been mostly raised as a male and that obviously impacted her attire and behavior.  
“We are going shopping.” The redhead’s tone was final.  
  
“Okay…?” Arno timidly said. She learned a while ago to not question Elise when it came to shopping. She shivered at the grave mistake she had made in protesting on going shopping with her.  
  
It was only at the shop did Arno attempt to escape through the window. That didn’t fool Elise however. Just when she halfway out, Elise grabbed her legs and pulled her back in.  
  
“You-”, Elise grunted in effort as she pulled the attempted escapee back in, “-are going to get some fine clothes!”  
  
“Whether I like it or not, hmmm?” Arno said dryly.  
  
“And there’s that snark. This is for your own good, my dear friend.”  
  
“Doesn't seem like it at the moment.” Elise pulled the corset tighter around Arno.  
  
“Hey-can-’t breathe!”

* * *

  
  
“I can’t believe you are choosing to wear men’s clothes. You have plenty of fine clothes.” Arno sighed. She knew that Elise had good intentions, but being low-key and not slipping up was key in hiding her real gender.  
  
Arno groped for her formal attire. Her hands met air.  
  
Oh, Shi-!  
  
“I see you found out already.” Elise was standing there smirking.  
Arno clenched her fists, “Elise, you can get me in serious trouble because of this.”  
  
“Well, if you have any trouble with Assassins, feel free to join ‘the dark side’,” Arno swore that she would get revenge for this.  
  
She looked at the very much female clothes laid out for her. The navy blue dress wasn’t overly fancy, but still uncomfortably feminine for Arno. A black cloth mask was there as well. Arno supposed that she would have to pose as an Assassin informant or affiliate. They sometimes wore this to conceal their identities in social gatherings.  
  
Once she was dressed and somewhat prepped, courtesy of Elise, Arno stepped into the room where the party was commencing at. She looked around and saw fancy clothes decked with obviously expensive cloth and elaborate decorations.  
  
Arno looked down at her own dress. These threads will barely have me fit in this kind of setting, she thought.  
  
If she thought the day could get any worse, it did. Gabriel was talking several feet away from her to another Apprentice. In her panic, Arno practically ran, as much as she could in those blasted shoes she was wearing, to the refreshments table.  
  
A very appealing bottle of wine seemed to be waiting for her to drink a glass or two from-  
  
“Now why’s a lass like you hiding out at the refreshments table?” A rather thick Irish-accented voice said. Arno looked behind her and saw a man wearing dark robes along with a blue undercoat.  
  
“I’m, uh, just checking out the wine,” She downed a glass as if to make a point. ‘It’s very...good.“  
  
Her failure of a lie must have amused her companion as he chuckled. Arno kicking herself mentally for her awkwardness. Thanks to Elise, she couldn’t act in a masculine way, which she was in fact very much comfortable with. Being feminine is something Arno was never taught, so it looked like she was going on a limb here.  
  
“Aye, it probably is. Judging by the way you’re drinking it.” Arno blushed in embarrassment. She was having a stressful time and a little wine wouldn’t hurt anybody.  
  
“I-I should go. Good day, sir.” Arno bowed slightly and moved to go to a hopefully empty balcony. It wasn’t that the man was mean. He actually seemed to be good company, but she was just too awkward. The female had only little to none experience in things like this.  
  
“Hold on, lass. Forgive my lack of manners. I never asked for your name. ”  
  
Arno paused. What name should she give him? Thinking for a second, she decided, “I am Anna.”  
  
“No last name?”  
  
“Sorry, I don’t give my entire name to strangers.” Ah, there was her characteristic dryness. Fortunately, the man didn’t mind and seemed to be even more amused.  
  
“My name’s Shay. Shay Patrick Cormac.” A touch of pridefulness could be detected in the statement.  
  
“That’s a-!” Arno was jostled by an overly carefree dancing couple. She stumbled and almost fell until Shay caught her. The position they were in would seem that they were dancing and romantically at that too. Their noses were almost touching as Shay used his right hand to hold her lower back up and his right to gently grip her arm. One key thing happened during this moment.  
  
Their eyes met and so black and white burst into their vision along with figures of white and red.  
  
Well, this certainly wasn’t what Arno was expecting when she decided to go to another one of these stuffy peace parties.

* * *

 

Random Bonus Scene:  
  
“Are you okay, lady?” Leon cautiously said and for good reason too. An unholy smile was apparent on Arno’s face as she held the Guillotine Gun in her hands. Hands moved almost reverently over the weapon.  
  
“Oh, I am more than fine~ Thank you, little man, for this wonderful gift.”  
  
“Don’t call me little man! I’m as tall as-” Arno droned out the rest of Little Man's words. She could already imagine the things she could with this delightful weapon of hers.

The female assassin laughed in glee. Oh, the fun she would have with this.

 _Did I make the right decision to give the Guillotine Gun to her_ , thought Leon. With the way she was laughing, he wasn't sure she would use it to be the savior of France.

The next morning Elise woke up in the middle of the night to the loud sound of a mortar firing. She rushed to look out her window and saw a familiar hooded figure firing a mortar at... her dresses?!

"ARNO!!!"

The said person turned her head towards Elise and smiled. Ah, revenge was best when served cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this! By the way, anybody interested in more bonus scenes with Fem!Arno? I have an idea about Fem!Arno and the raiders.


	3. Unforeseen II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno is cursing Francis for leaving her out to dry, Elise is worried, and Shay finds out a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist writing about Arno taking on the Raiders. I have recently finished the Dead Kings DLC (which was awesome) and that gave me some inspiration to write this chapter. As you will probably notice, there is quite a lot of grammatical errors in this. I apologize for that. I hope you enjoy reading and feel free to give feedback!

“You can’t be serious.” Arno shook her head in disbelief. How the hell was she supposed to accomplish that?

“Haven’t I made myself clear? Rid the Raiders of a section of the Underground and bring proof of the existence of your supposed ‘artifact’,” The Elite Apprentice paused, “Then we will send support.”

“I can’t clear out an entire section of the Underground! With all do respect Monsieur Francis, one man such as myself cannot accomplish such a feat.”

“Then I’m afraid our conversation is done. Come to me if you ever succeed in the task. I’ll be giving you a reprieve from your assigned missions. How you choose to spend such time is up to you.” With that said, Francis and the other Apprentices walked out of the room.

Arno made a frustrated noise. She had a lead from Leon about a First Civilization artifact in the Underground. The Assassin supposed that she would need to bring a hostage that had knowledge of such a thing as well as eliminate the Raiders or at least their leaders in the nearest section of the Underground.

“I need to stock up on medicine and mortars then...” grumbled a very much annoyed Assassin.

* * *

“Francis, you imbecile!” swore Arno under her breath. She was being chased and shot at by a group of Raider underlings. But that wasn’t the problem… at least not exactly. No, her concern was the Raider leader. It took at least 4 hits to even down the nearly invincible men.

Arno let out a colorful swear word as a bullet entered her shoulder. It seemed to be a clean shot from what she could tell.

Enough was enough. It was time to bomb those imbeciles.

The process to load her Guillotine Gun only took 3 movements. She grabbed a mortar from her pouch.

_Click._

The mortar clicked into the barrel.

_Click._

The mortar was loaded and the trigger was pulled...

_BOOOM!_

The devastating mortar landed perfectly on its target. Bodies went flying and the very walls of the Underground shook.

Wait a minute. Shook… Arno’s eyes widened.

The walls supporting the ground above her groaned in protest as the structural integrity of the building was compromised.

Arno raced across the room as she dodged debris and rocks raining down. She winced as one rock hit dead on a bullet-inflicted wound.

Just as the exit was going be blocked by falling debris, Arno slid under the wooden debris covering it and barely made it into the connecting room.

The exit to the nice and non-collapsing above world was nearby. Only a few more turns and she would be there…

Seeing the beautiful untainted sunlight of Paris never felt more welcomed to Arno than at this moment as she was greeted with it a few minutes later.

The female Assassin basked in it for a few moments before looking back down at the Underground Entrance. She grinned almost mischievously.

Well, Francis did say to clear a section of the Underground of the Raiders and she did just that.

All she had to do was find a knowledgeable hostage.

* * *

A Raider shuddered in terror for a reason unknown to him.

Almost golden eyes narrowed at him in a predatory way. Their owner stalked her way towards the target. A thin arm snaked its way around the Raider’s mouth and held tight. Its twin kept a strong hold on the neck.

The target passed out in a few moments but not before giving one last bodily jerk in protest.

* * *

“Francis~ I have a present or should I say presents for you.” In her defense for her lack of respect towards her superior, Arno was exhausted and feeling a bit annoyed.

“I would watch your tone with me, Apprentice.” Unimpressed, she merely stared at him blankly.

“From what I have heard, you have caused quite some chaos. You also seemed to have blocked access to a section of the Underground instead of liberating it.”

“You only said that I needed to rid of the Raiders in it.” The Elite Apprentice let out a sigh.

“Oh, and I also got you present. Say hi to Hostage Number 3.” Arno kicked a Raider forward in invitation.

“Hostage Number 3?”

“The other hostages weren’t as… cooperative.” It only then did the Apprentices look at the blood-stained Guillotine Gun and outfit of their fellow Apprentice. They nearly shuffled in nervousness. Arno looked a little too like her mentor at the moment.

* * *

“Ellllllissse~”  slurred Arno. Blood loss had obviously affected her. She stumbled onto Elise and clung on other.

“Arno!” exclaimed the young female. What on Earth did her friend do to be in such a state? On second thought, she probably wouldn’t want to know that.

Elise dragged her friend up the stairs and into her private room. She sighed in concern as she gathered the necessary tools and supplies.

_Oh, Arno. Why must you do this to yourself?_ , thought Elise.

* * *

Shay didn't consider himself to be a nosy person. However, hearing a loud and alarming crash in the room of the Grandmaster’s daughter would make a brief investigation reasonable enough.

He shifted his Air Rifle into a more accessible position. Shay cautiously opened the wooden door and saw... a bloody figure with bandages around their chest on the bed?

The Irishman walked closer and identified the figure as an Assassin for the discarded attire with the signature hood he walked by yet noted.

Shay readied his hidden blade in anticipation and looked closely as if to recognize what should be an unfamiliar person to him. As he walked ever so closer to his potential target, he saw that the bandages seemed to have…

Wait… were those-

Oh.

_Oh._

It was only at the realization of the Assassin's true gender did he begin to connect the dots. The eyes, as well as the figure and hair, were practically identical to that of his soulmate’s.

_Aye, it is possible_ , mused Shay.

“What are you doing here?!”

* * *

_**Random Bonus Scene:** _

 

“Give me your money, peasant!” Arno glanced in the direction of the voice. Hmm… seems like someone was in need of her assistance. The female assassin jumped from the rooftops and landed smoothly in the street.

“Wha-...” trailed off the bully as he was interrupted by the menacing movement of a **very** large ax being removed.

“Please, sir! We didn’t mean any harm.” Arno took a threatening step forward. The message was clear: Beat it.

Amused and satisfied, the female looked on at the bully running away while shouting apologies at his victim.

Speaking of the victim… Arno looked down at the young child. He gave a tentative smile towards her. Resisting the urge to smile back, Arno gave a stiff but acknowledging nod.

“Stop, Citizen! We need to have a word!” _Time to cut this silent conversation short_ , thought Arno.

The Assassin began to run away as she turned to a corner to break away from the guard's line of sight. She climbed a nearby building and pulled herself into the closest open window.

Gasps of surprise filled her ears. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen.” Arno gave her version of a charming smile at them. Her audience only stayed their eyes on her weapon.

Arno sighed. It seemed like she needed to work on her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arno singing out the name Francis reminds me of Deadpool doing that in his movie. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and forgave the grammar mistakes in there. I'm thinking of doing a ambiguous Fem!Desmond x Daniel Cross (and maybe his ancestor too) soulmate AU for the next chapter and then picking this back up after that. What do you think? Thanks for reading!


	4. Variations (Shay x Fem!Arno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together, soulmates could either be the perfect enemies, friends, or lovers. In the case of Shay and Arno, they were all of the above. Reincarnation Soulmate AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised myself that I would post a Shay x Fem!Arno chapter once I found Shay's Templar outfit in Unity. I finally found it last night after synchronizing with a lot of the viewpoints of Paris. Anyway, I decided to write different variations of Shay and Fem!Arno's relationship. I hope you will enjoy the chapter.

 

**Enemies:**

Arno unsheathed her hidden blade as she approached the old hunter.

“So this is how it ends...” mused Shay Cormac. Arno gritted her teeth. Was he really trying to be philosophical, right now?

“It seems so. Although your meal really is too pitiful for a last meal.” Arno motioned for a waiter. Only one of them was leaving this tavern alive. If Arno was going to die, she might as well have a damn good meal.

“Here are your meals, good sirs.” The waitress excused herself. The tension was taught in the air as the two ate in silence. Arno felt nervousness for while she was a Master Assassin, this man had hunted her superiors in every field imaginable.

“Thank you.” Arno blinked. What had this man said?

“No need to thank me. If this is my last meal, I might as well make sure to enjoy it too.

The restaurant patrons looked on nervously. They started to subtly get out customers out of the room and into a different area. They then hurriedly exited out themselves.

Hidden blades unsheathed as the two rushed at each other. Past and present collided in a clashing of blades that was strangely devoid of vengeful and ugly hate.

Arno laughed bitterly. She wasn’t doing this for revenge. No, she wanted closure and it seemed like killing this old man would have to do it.

A dagger bit into her skin as her sword nicked her opponent’s shoulder.

“It seems that this battle will have only one victor.”

Yes, only one of them would leave this place alive.

* * *

**Friends:**

“Be careful out there.” Shay laid a hand on Arno’s shoulder to stop her.

“I could say the same for you too.” The French soldier confidently grinned at her long-time friend.

“It’s time to head back to the base, men!”

“Shay, I have something to say too. Don’t be a hero l-like Elise was.” Arno choked up at the mentioning of Elise. Her dear friend had been killed in the war by sacrificing herself in vengeance for her father’s death and saving Arno herself.

“I can’t make any promises, lass. But we will meet again and have that wine you keep on rambling about.” Arno could feel tears welling in her eyes. The Irish-American soldier was going to be sent into a major battle with a likely high death toll.

“Yes, we will.” With that said, the two reluctantly parted from one another. Arno went back to her fellow French Resistance and Shay with his comrades in the American military.

**_Several Months later…_ **

“Arno, I finally got that wine you were always going on and on about!” Shay excitedly grabbed his friend’s soldiers.

The person disappointedly turned out not to be his friend, “You know Arno?”

“Aye, have you seen her?” The soldier’s face turned grim as he seemed to bear ill news.

“I’m sorry… but she got killed by one of the airplanes. She managed to shoot several of them down with the anti-aircraft gun.” Shock ran through Shay. This couldn’t be true. She agreed that they would meet again...

“She saved my life in the process as well as countless of others. I couldn’t have known a better soldier than her.” The Irishman numbly nodded. Those facts wouldn’t bring her back.

 _What happened to not being a hero, Arno? ,_  thought Shay. He always knew war came with sacrifice and death. But to lose her was…

_Crash._

He slowly looked towards the source of the sound. Apparently, he dropped the wine bottle he brought. Oh? How fitting.

Crimson wine covered the surface of the floor just as Arno’s blood probably blanketed the ground on which she bled.

Images of Arno dying flashed through Shay’s head, “Damn it, lass! Why’d you have to go and die?” he brokenly said.

* * *

**Lovers:**

“He’s at it again.” whispered an Abstergo employee. When would that man give up? They shook their head in exasperation.

“I’ve already told you ‘no’. ” Arno said.

“C’mon! You need to start doin’ some field work with me, love.” Shay said.

“Someone has to manage the administration when you grunts are gone.”

“You may have everyone fooled. But you can’t fool me. I saw that glint in your eye when you took down that runaway Assassin.”

**_Later..._ **

“Argh!” shouted a grunt as Arno threw him over her shoulder. His head slammed hard against the firm mat.

“I almost feel bad for these poor souls. No one deserves your kind of wrath, lass.” Arno rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, enough will your teasing already. I’ve got work to do.” Shay dramatically sighed.

“Don’t have enough time to go for dinner with me on the Morrigan, then?”

“Fine. But make sure to pack that wine.”

“You and your alcohol, Arno. I swear...” The Irishman trailed off as if in thought. He let a mischievous grin overtook his features.

The Templar hugged his girlfriend from behind. She shouted in protest in his ears, but he did not yield, “What’s with that reluctant ‘fine’? I know plenty of women who would want to go eat dinner with me on my ship.”

“Well, I know plenty of men that would like to go to Cafe...” Shay leaned in closer to the point of their noses brushing against each other.

“H-hey! W-what are you doing?” Arno blushed. He knew that she got easily flustered by stuff like that and still did it. She huffed in irritation.

 _Just you wait. I’ll get my revenge sooner or later_ , thought the vengeful female.

“Aw, you’re really cute when you do that.”

“SHAY!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a random idea I had. I hope Shay and Arno's romantic relationship in the last part isn't awkward. Also, I have some questions, if you don't mind answering. Do you think that Arno's personality is bland or not well defined in this? Is Shay out of character as well? I want to improve my writing and make sure that these chapters are at least decent, so any feedback is more than welcome. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!


	5. Unforeseen III (Shay x Fem!Arno x Gabriel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gabriel is protective, Arno is oblivious, and Shay is curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a filler chapter in a way with no relevance to the plot. I'll be posting another chapter later today.

“How are you doing, Gabriel?” The addressed man shrugged in nonchalance about it. He then gestured to his friend.

“Yes, things have been going well.” Phillip then motioned for two drinks to the nearby barmaid.

“Have you heard of your student’s exploits?” That seemed to get the usually nonchalant man’s attention, “He seems to have taken after you weapon-wise” continued Phillip, “And if I do remember correctly, your younger days as well.”

“Tell me more.” Ah, hook, line, sinker as some would say. That method always worked even on Gabriel.

* * *

**_Later…_ **

“I truly don’t understand why you haven’t talked to Arno about this.” Gabriel took a sip of wine in reply to his friend’s words.

“It is none of my business.”

“What if the Templar does something to him?”

“Then I’ll make it my business.” Gabriel set down his drink and tossed some coin towards the tavern owner. The conversation had soured the wine for him.

The green-coat wearing Assassin could only sigh at his friend’s actions. While Phillip knew that his friend seemed nonchalant about Arno’s soulmate, the look in Gabriel’s eyes spoke louder than words.

Let’s just hope that Templar doesn’t do anything stupid, thought Phillip. After all, peace would be hard to maintain if one of their own decided to attack the infamous Assassin Hunter of the Templars.

* * *

**_Later..._ **

“Monsieur Francis, I have completed my assigned mission...” Arno trailed off as the normally prideful Elite Apprentice looked at her in what could almost be described as fear.

“G-good. You may take leave for the rest of the week.” Arno nearly burst out grinning. Today just be her lucky day. After all, since when did her fellow Apprentices and Francis not try and boss her around.

As she turned to leave, Arno heard someone whisper, “Is she gone now?”

Huh, they really must dislike her. No surprise there given her actions in the past…

* * *

**_Earlier on..._ **

“Order him to do something like that again, and I will not be so lenient.” The novice’s mentor walked out of the room. The occupant’s let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.

“They’re both crazy.” murmured a shaken Apprentice.

“Careful, he might hear you.” admonished Francis. That brat’s mentor was something else honestly. He had just walked into the room and asked to spar with them.

If there was one thing their brothers should avoid, it was sparring with Gabriel Bardou.

“I need a drink.” sighed out a tired and beaten Elite Apprentice.

* * *

**_Random Bonus Scene:_ **

A little to known fact about Arno was that she liked to collect outfits from the chests she found in Paris. She kept them in a room above her own.

Another fact about her was that she only cleaned her clothes once in awhile. It just so happened that another bloody mission of hers got her outfit soaked in blood... again. All of Arno’s clothes were to be cleaned, which meant she either had to ask Elise for some clothes or wear some of the collectible outfits.

The later was the lesser evil of the two choices.

Arno had recently received an order to deliver a message to a group of Templars in an hour. The trip to the location took at least 30 minutes, therefore it was understandable for Arno to merely pick out the closest outfit to her.

When she finally arrived at the assigned location, the Templars were… gaping at her? Arno raised an eyebrow in question. Did they have a problem with an Apprentice delivering the letter to them?

One of the Templars sputtered out a ‘why’. The female Assassin sighed. These Templars really must not like the lower ranking being sent to do something for them.

“Aw, you look cute, Arno.” said a familiar voice.

“Elise, I think ‘handsome’ would be the right word for it.” Did her friend have to do this in front of the Templars?

“If only you knew...” Arno did not like the ominous feeling of her friend’s words. Elise usually criticized her male attire. Why did she start complimenting her choice of clothing now?

* * *

“Oh, the irony.” loudly barked out a low-ranking Templar. Shay glanced at the sudden noise. What was the cause of his men’s laughter now?

Last time, the fact that French ate frog legs caused them to laugh for two hours straight. Shay sighed. His subordinates had a… odd sense of humor to say the least.

“I know right. Who knew that an Assassin would wear a Templar outfit, much less a one belonging to one of such high-rank.” Now, that had Shay’s attention. An Assassin wearing a Templar outfit would have been thought to happen when, as some would say, pigs fly.

“I wonder how Master Cormac would react to such news. After all, an Assassin wearing an outfit of someone who betrayed them would be quite the shocker.” Ah, that explains it. Someone must have found one of his spare outfits in the chest he left somewhere in Paris. It still was quite odd that an Assassin would choose to wear it.

“Did you get the name of the Assassin?”

“The name’s Arno Dorian. It’s ironic because he is the son of a master assassin too. Although, there are rumors that he is cozy with the Grandmaster’s daughter.”

Shay pondered on the new information that gave light. It looked like he might pay this ‘Arno Dorian’ a visit. First, he’d need to find his whereabouts through Elise de la Serre.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling that Axeman is at least somewhat out of character in this. At least I tried. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!


	6. Unforeseen IV (Shay x Fem!Arno x Gabriel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shay is sent off on a meaningless mission, Arno makes a decision, Elise is captured and set to be hanged, and Gabriel... well he makes a choice as well.

If there was one thing that Shay shouldn’t have done, it was making an enemy out of Elise de la Serre. She had sent him on a mission, that could only be described as a wild goose chase, for an organized group of corrupt Templars.

Shay only managed to finish the mission in a few weeks. He should be heading back to Paris for debriefing in a couple of hours at the rate the Morrigan was sailing. He had chased the targets to Franciade, a known Assassin-affiliated village. As you would expect, that fact made things very difficult for the Irishman.

“Are you thinking about a lady, Shay? I could recognize that expression anywhere. When I was a young lad, I met...” Shay sighed. Gist, his old friend, always told him of stories about his younger years. While they were interesting a lot of times, there was such a thing as ‘too much’ when it came to his stories.

“I suppose. I met an interesting one in Paris.” Shay’s lips briefly quirked up. ‘Anna’ was quite something with her personality and the fact that she was his soulmate.

 _Who would have guessed that I would have a soulmate affiliated with my worst enemy?_ , mused Shay. In a way, Shay could sense out of it. He had sinned from the moment that earthquake destroyed Lisbon and to the time where he wiped out the Brotherhood in North America. Perhaps, he deserved it. If so, they chose a poor punishment for someone like him.

* * *

“Y-you’re supposed to be dead.” stuttered out Mirabeau. The figure grinned in return.

The Assassin Mentor groaned in pain. His killer wouldn’t give him a quick death knowing him.

“I wonder how the Brotherhood will take this. I seem to remember that pisspot Apprentice. Maybe, the Brotherhood needs another Shay Cormac?” Mirabeau’s eyes shot open in utter horror. He wouldn’t, right?

Arno was already trained to the extent of almost being a fully fledged Assassin. For him to turn traitor like Shay Cormac would potentially wipe out the French Brotherhood.

“You, canard!” cursed out the dying man. He couldn’t even have the closure of knowing his comrades were in good hands.

“You were always too weak, Mirabeau.” The assailant planted certain evidence that would give the Assassins some quite interesting clues on his victim’s murder.

* * *

Arno unsheathed her hidden blade as she attacked a non-existent enemy. She needed to hone her skills after recuperating from her wounds.

“LET ME GO!” a familiar voice screamed.

_Elise._

Arno raced towards the house. She looked around frantically. Evidence of struggle was evident as the situation seemed to become even direr.

_Ting!_

Arno looked at the floor and saw a… bullet? More bullets were scattered past the front door and led to an urchin.

“What do you want?” scowled the boy. Arno scowled back. She had no time for dealing with brats. She already had to deal with Leon.

“Have you seen a screaming woman with red hair?”

“I don’t know, sir. I see a lot of strange things going on here...” Arno tossed a handful of coins at him.

“Does this jog your memory?” The boy took the coins greedily without a second thought.

“The lady was dragged by some hooded figures with strange gauntlets towards the square north of here. The guillotine awaits her-” The urchin cut himself off as the man seemed to be missing.

* * *

“Wish me luck, Father” Arno closed the watch and put it in her pocket. If the man himself was here, he would probably be disappointed in her. She was essentially betraying the Brotherhood. Could she even do this?

_Yes._

Elise had always been there for her even when the Creed wasn’t. _I won’t let her die not matter what_ , thought Arno.

Mustering up her determination, Arno hurriedly leapt and slid under debris blocking her path. She pushed her way through a scuffle between a crowd and a handful of soldiers.

Arno made two big jumps before landing on the rooftop of a shop. She leaped onto a different building and dropped onto a lower roof.

Now, where was Elise? Arno activated her Eagle Vision and found her friend. She dropped down onto several of lower beams on a wooden structure.

As she ran into the crowd, the now former Assassin unsheathed the Guillotine Gun and drove its blade through a guard’s neck. She then triggered a smoke bomb and dashed towards Elise.

“Arno!” her friend cried out. The redhead was being positioned to be beheaded by the Guillotine. Arno fired a mortar at the guards handling Elise as close as was safe for her.

_Boom!_

“ _Merde_!” cursed Arno. A bullet lodged its way into her arm, courtesy of Captain Canard.

The female ran straight at her shooter and jumped. Her hidden blade founds its way into the skull of the captain. Time seemed to slow as memories of the now deceased man rushed at her.

“ _You will take care of this.” A hooded figure said. Their voice sounded strangely familiar to her._

_“Yes, sir.”_

_“Good. Make sure that pisspot Apprentice doesn't’ get wind of this.”_

More memories flew through her mind but only one word rang clear...

“P-pisspot?” That voice and the insulting nickname for her belonged to Bellec. But she killed him when he turned against the Mentor!

“Arno! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re surrounded.”

“Oh? Good thing- You know what never mind. Just get down on the ground now.” _And brace_ , murmured Arno.

“What do you-!”

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Thunderous cannon fire hit the so-called ‘bringer of justice’, the Guillotine.

“Thank you, my friend,” Arno said. She pulled her disoriented friend alongside herself. They exited the square and turned around a sharp corner of a building when familiar hooded figures appeared in front of them.

“Master Gabriel.” breathed out Arno.

“You need to stop this, Arno. Turn her in. She-” Gabriel pointed at Elise.”-is accused of murdering our Mentor.” Arno’s breath hitched. Mirabeau was dead? While they had never exactly been close, the man was willing to make peace with his enemy for the sake of the greater good. An admirable quality for sure.

“Never! If you want her, you’ll need to get through me.” Arno unsheathed her Guillotine Gun. The mortar was ready to fire. She desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“Don’t make me do this.” Her mentor unsheathed his own weapon in return.

“I’m afraid we both need to do this, teacher.”

* * *

Arno gasped in pain as an ax lodged itself in her thigh. She grabbed the handle of her weapon and Gabriel stared down the barrel of it, a moment later. Her hands trembled as her finger lightly touched the trigger... and then relaxed.

“I-I can’t kill you.” She sighed in resignation. So, this was how it was going to end. Regardless of the present outcome, Arno didn’t regret anything. She bought enough time for Elise to get away from the Assassins.

“Arno, I-” Whatever her mentor was going to say was cut off by the tell-tale hissing of a type of bomb. _Possibly a smoke bomb_ , noted Arno.

“The lass is right. But I sure can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think of Arno's character as someone who would sacrifice anything including himself for his loved ones. Arno being a female in here makes no difference regarding that. That's how I interpret Arno's character. I based the Elise rescue part of the chapter on the Elise reveal trailer for Assassin's Creed: Unity. Also, does anyone know of who Arno was referring to when she said 'Thank you, my friend' when cannon fire rained down on the square? Anyway, thanks for reading!


	7. Born out of necessity (Fem!Desmond x Daniel Cross)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Desmond miraculously managed to survive being fried alive by an artifact made by a civilization of magical space wizards, she didn't expect a small act of mercy to pay her back in kind. That 'small act of mercy' leads to having a practically clingy Templar following her around. And don't even get Desmond started on Juno...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some strong language in this chapter.

"What the hell?" whispered Desmond under her breath. Because really, what the hell?

It must be a very twisted world for a Templar to be her soulmate. Bitterness against Templars practically radiated from the Ezio part of her. The part of her that truly accepted her father's teachings was revolted.

She climbed onto the rafters and waited to assassinate... Daniel Cross, her soulmate. Desmond sighed. Since when have things ever been so simple for her?

Anyway, soulmate or not, Daniel Cross had to be put out of commission. Still, she could give him a fighting chance of surviving. It would be a small act of mercy. Desmond told herself that she wouldn't compromise the Brotherhood this way, but still leaving an enemy bleeding out instead of finishing him off? That was dangerously close to betraying the Assassins.

As Daniel Cross made his way beneath the rafter she was on, Desmond readied herself and pounced. She descended from above and basically tackled him. A hidden blade activated and ripped through a vital artery she could vaguely remember from her Animus sessions.

"Kill me!" Daniel Cross gripped her wrist to stop her. Desmond bitterly smiled

"I think that the bleeding will take of that."

"You're..." Her soulmate trailed off when he fell unconscious from blood loss.

Guards approached her location from what she could tell from her Eagle Vision, "Time to go."

* * *

"Are the bombs armed yet?" Desmond twitched in annoyance at Shaun saying that for the 10th time.

"For the tenth time, no." She irritably said. Desmond was following the training given to her and was positioning the bombs at hidden locations. Infiltrating the Abstergo warehouse wasn't easy especially with the security. But they proved to not be much of a problem... anymore.

_BEEP_

"Finally! I was beginning to think that I would have to manually set them." The 'celebration' halted as Desmond realized that some idiot gave her the wrong bombs...

She had just set them to detonate in 2 minutes.

"Well, shit!"

The female Assassin climbed onto the rafters hanging above the ground. She leaped across them and barreled into an apparently weak window. In mid-air, Desmond barely managed to turn her fatal jump into a Leap of Faith. Unfortunately, only water was able to cushion her landing.

She climbed out of the water only to sway. Her vision was swimming. Huh, swimming. She just went swimming.

"Desmond, are you okay?" Mister Asshole asked.

"I'm swimming, asshole~" Her father seemed to be talking with someone as he mentioned something about a 'concussion' and 'recovery team'.

Soon enough, Desmond couldn’t stand with all the swaying and felt tired. Taking a little nap wouldn’t hurt anyone. Before she could fall asleep, she heard someone sigh out...  
  
“The bossman won’t be happy with me doing this.”

* * *

Desmond groaned as her head pounded. Ugh, this felt like a hangover except ten times as worse. She tried to shift in order to find a better position for her sore body. Only for her to unable to do so as arms were wrapped around her middle section. Wait wh-  
  
Desmond looked down only to freeze in shock…  
  
Daniel Cross was hugging her.  
  
“What the fuck?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do apologize for this chapter as I'm pretty sure that I didn't capture Daniel Cross's personality right... and Desmond's as well. Please let me know if you think this should not have a second part. Any advice or feedback is more than welcome. Thanks for reading!


	8. Arno x Fem!Callum x Aguilar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal is 90% sure that she is going insane. The other 10% is that her ancestors actually have a consciousness in her mind... Cal doesn't know which is the lesser evil of the two choices.
> 
> OR
> 
> In which Cal has to deal with a French ax-wielding Assassin, a still mysterious Spaniard, and running from Abstergo... all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really short chapter that came from rewatching most of the movie. I say 'most' because I got interrupted as I got closer to the ending. Anyway, this is more of a trial run for writing Fem!Cal. Feel free to give your feedback. I just wrote what I thought would fit a female Callum's personality. So if Fem!Desmond's personality got mixed with Cal's, I apologize. Thanks for reading!

She and the other descendants were on the run. Funny, because Cal has been running for most of her life. Since the day her mother died by her own father’s hand.  
  
When they finally managed to come into contact with French Brotherhood, the closest Brotherhood, Cal was asked to go back into the Animus. Out of all the descendants, she spent the least amount of time in the Animus. Therefore, she needed the required skills from another ancestor.  
  
“I’ll do it.” Surprised faces greeted her. After all, Callum Lynch wasn’t exactly a selfless person. Yes, she knew that. And that she led the Templars to find the Apple.  
  
“Are you sure?” An unsure tone was underlaid there. It seemed like that Francis didn’t want her to back out at the last second.  
  
“Your data regarding Arno Dorian needs to be recovered. I’ll collect the information.”  
  
“Very well. Thank you, Ms. Lynch.”  
  
“Just call me Cal.”

* * *

Cal stumbled back in surprise as the smoky figure of Arno Dorian complete with a battle ax made his way towards her.  
  
“Not again...” cursed out Cal. She had a love-hate relationship with the Bleeding Effect. She picked up the skills she needed but there was a catch…  
  
Her ancestors try to kill her.  
  
Great.  
  
While Cal was contemplating on how to deal with her new ancestor and soon-to-be attempted murderer, ‘Arno’ stopped his movements. She froze as the man stared at her… and smiled.  
  
What the hell?  
  
Cal could almost confidently say that most of the things she encountered in this life didn’t scare her after her mother’s death. But this… to see a long-dead man smile like that. It was like the ghostly stories her mother told her.  
  
Simply unnatural. Unnatural like the Animus, the war with the Templars, the entire world.  
  
Her ears rang with some high-pitched sound as her ancestor seemed to resume his movements toward her. Cal could deal with this. She survived one ancestor. How hard could another be?  
  
And that’s when things took a turn for the worst…  
  
Aguilar appeared and… stopped Arno Dorian?  
  
“What the fuck is going on?” breathed out Cal.

* * *

“It’s official. I’m going insane.”  
  
“At least, you’re not singing ‘I’m crazy’.”  
  
Cal scowled at Moussa, “Very funny. I’d like to see you deal with two ancestors.”  
  
“Actually, you wouldn’t.” A bitter smile greeted her. Yeah, Moussa already had Baptiste on his plate. Cal imagined if he had a second ancestor… she could already have the nightmares from the mental image.  
  
“Anyway, is it possible for two ancestors to interact with each other?”  
  
“Perhaps. Although it is mostly unheard of.” Moussa gave a passing glance over to her, “Maybe you are going insane.”  
  
She didn’t give a reply to that. After all, Moussa was dead-serious. The only question was:  
  
Just how insane was she?


	9. Arno x Fem!Callum x Aguilar II

Arno Dorian watched in sympathy as Cal retched into the toilet bowl she was leaning on. He knew that memories could always be tricky things to manage and first-timers in absorbing memories like Cal always had a difficult time. He reached out to merely pat her back as he wanted both to comfort her and gain acknowledgment. After all, shouldn't one want to comfort the only one in their world as well as gain recognition?

There was only one problem:

Aguilar. Aguilar de Nerha, to be specific.

Just when he was about to touch her back a hand shot out to grab his wrist in a painful grip. The message in the Spaniard's eyes was clear:

_Don't touch her._

"Not again." moaned Cal. Their eyes both shot to where she was leaning against the wall. Bloodshot eyes looked at them with mixed emotions. Arno couldn't resist to reach out a hand only for Aguilar to once again stop him. He gritted his teeth in irritation.

"Don't you know that-" As if reading his mind, Aguilar slammed him into the bathroom wall. His hidden blade settled against his neck. The Frenchman's own hidden blade activated and its tip pressed against Aguilar's clothed stomach.

Arno cocked his head. 'What will it be, Spaniard?' he thought.

* * *

 "Moussa." Cal managed to speak out.

"Cal..." Moussa cautiously said.

"Do you see them? They keep fighting... over something." Cal laughed as if something just occurred to her.

"You need to snap out of it. They cannot hurt you."

"Physically."

"I don't think you should be in the Animus anymore." Cal's eyes shot open as if she just awakened from some kind of trance.

"No." she sharply said. Something in her just felt wrongness at the thought of not being connected to her French Revolutionist ancestor. A near hysterical laugh bubbled in her throat. Her mind, her body didn't feel like they belonged to her anymore. Who was she to know if that wrongness truly belonged to her? Everything was just...

Overwhelming.

Another foreign feeling washed over her. This time of warmth and the seemingly unreachable feeling of safety enveloped Cal. She closed her eyes to relish in the unexpected but not entirely welcomed feeling. Even with all that was going on, Cal knew that she could push on and survive.

After all, what else could she do?

* * *

Cal sighed in relief as she finally laid down on the bed. While she didn't do much physical work, in all honesty, the chaos and turmoil in processing the memories she absorbed from both Arno and the people she killed was hard to deal with. Huh, she called him 'Arno' not 'Arno Dorian'. Somewhere along the way, Cal felt a sort of strange understanding with her ancestor, unlike Aguilar.

Her 'time' with the Spaniard was rushed and hectic with Abstergo forcing her to the most important parts of his memories. But still... she oddly felt that she would always have Aguilar with her. It was like some would say that they would always be with that person in their hearts. She remembered her mother saying that... and yet she still felt alone.

Liars. The train of thought made her chuckle bitterly.

The sound of a boot hitting the floor interrupted her train of thought.

" _Bonjour, chère âme soeur._ " cooed a very familiar voice in French.

Cal knew the language as her ancestor spoke it as his first language. Even in her shocked state, she could easily translate it into...

_Hello, dear soulmate._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in this chapter felt a little rushed to me, but I couldn't do anything to really fix it. I apologize for that. Thanks for reading!


	10. Oblivious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno is really awkward and oblivious. Meanwhile, Shay is rolling with it and waiting for his oblivious (and cute) soulmate to realize the truth.

"You need to get out more, my friend" sighed out Elise. Arno stared in disbelief at her friend. Did Elise even realize that the blasted boss of hers that kept on calling her 'pisspot' would hardly give her lunch breaks much less time to socialize?

"Arno, I'm afraid that you are becoming a hermit." The irritation in her rose. While she knew this was just some playful teasing, Arno still didn't like being called a "hermit".

"I. am. not. a. hermit." Arno emphasized each word carefully.

"Oh, sure. If you talk to the next guy that walks into the room, I'll believe you." The brunette blanched at her friend. What did she say? Everyone that knew her knew that Arno was terribly awkward in social interaction especially with the opposite gender. But still... a familiar competitive spirit rose in reply to her Elise's challenge.

"I'll do it." Arno gritted out. One more embarrassing moment was no sweat for an awkward person such as herself.

The universe must have hated her at the moment by having a male step into the room. An admittedly handsome one at that. She felt tempted to facepalm at the thought of talking to him. Arno was going to screw this one up... badly.

 _Oh Merde_ , Arno thought.

Arno forced out what was probably a trembling smile and moved towards the mal-oh what was she even doing?

Just one more step...

And she was seated next to the man.

"Like your drink?" Arno motioned towards the drink in the man's hand. Just try and be smooth, Arno-

"Aye, the White Russian is quite good here. My friend personally recommended this."

“You like sweet drinks?” asked a genuinely interested Arno.

He tilted his head in contemplation for a moment before responding, “I suppose if they are made well and not over-sweetened.”

“I work at a cafe nearby that specializes in sweet beverages. It's pretty good."

"And how do I know if you're not just advertising it?" he playfully said.

"Well, the biscuits there are frankly something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." The man chuckled at that.

From that point on, things got a bit less awkward at least for Arno. She talked about her major in French history, and he about his career in the Special Forces of the Irish military.

"I never caught your name, lass."

"The name's Arno. Arno Dorian. You?"

"Shay Patrick Cormac." He proudly said. Arno almost raised an eyebrow in question. Did that name hold some sort of prestige or did he just have a lot of self-pride?

"Well, I'll see you around... Shay." Arno ignored her smiling friend at the back and practically high-tailed it to the back entrance.

Fresh air was inhaled and Arno sighed in relief. The interaction between herself and Shay wasn't awfully bad. But it certainly was nerve-wracking at first.

She attempted to fish out the car keys in her purse yet only yielded an unfamiliar piece of paper. A phone-number was written down there.

Suddenly, a thought struck Arno as she realized what their first words to each other.

'Aye, the White Russian is quite good here. My friend recommended this.'

Shay still talking to her even though she was horribly awkward with him.

She face palmed. How oblivious could she be to ignore the signs much less her words?

 _At least I have his number_ , Arno thought.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or has my writing worsened? Anyway, Arno is really awkward in here. I think I may have made her too awkward. I apologize if this makes you cringe. On the bright side, I didn't use any line-breaks during the chapter. I'll consider that a small improvement from the broken up stories I write. Thanks for reading!


	11. Arno x Fem!Cal x Aguilar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cal gets a migraine the size of Texas, Arno resorts to annoying Aguilar, and the later just wants to protect his descendant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Maria_and_Aguilars_Codex_1492:
> 
> I hoped this chapter didn't disappoint you. I've been having internet problems so I had to use my tablet to edit most of this and post as well. I had fun writing this. I'll be working on the Bellec one-shot now. Thanks for requesting and reading!

_****_Aguilar lunged at Arno with bloody murder in his eyes... literally. Cal's eyes widened as the Frenchman shot a phantom blade at him. Yeah, she definitely wasn’t going to get into a most likely imaginary fight between two Master Assassins.

Aguilar dodged it by ducking down and rolling underneath it. He swept Arno's legs from under him and pinned him to the floor by his throat.

The surprisingly realistic sounds of her ancestor choking filled the room.Cal shut her eyes in an attempt to gain control. This was not real. Her ancestors weren't alive much less trying to kill each other... or her.

The now fairly annoying voice of Francis filled her ears like that of a horrible tune sung by an inexperienced violin player.

"You doing okay, mon amie?" he asked

"I... am going to kill you." Once she got up, she added. A migraine that rivaled that of her worst hangover caused her to curl up in the sheets she laid on.

How did she even get like this?

Oh, yes. Her two long dead ancestors fighting. One oddly clingy Frenchman and the other a homicidal Spaniard.

Great.

'I don't think I'm that clingy’ an amused voice said in her head. Cal jumped in surprise. Aguilar never did that.

"Just leave me alone," She said to apparently imaginary Arno.

‘Very well’ Somehow that statement seemed ominous. Cal sighed. Whatever Arno had up in metaphorical sleeve couldn't be worse than these damn side effects of the Bleeding Effect.

* * *

"Homicidal Spaniard, eh? You know that actually fits you, Aguilar." Arno snickered.

"I have long since moved past that." 'That' is killing a ton of people without much thought. Then again, Arno did just that too at some point in his life.

"It doesn't matter. Cal doesn't know, and probably will never either. You do realize that you're a monster in her eyes, right?" Aguilar's frame tightened. Arno smirked. Getting the desired effect on people was always pleasing to him.

"You terrified Cal by 'training' her. She will never trust you." That statement seemed to get a reaction. A hidden blade struck in his direction only to be deflected by his own.

"You need more than that to beat me, old man." Just as he finished saying that, a kick knocked him off his feet and a hidden blade lightly touched his throat.

Arno stared at his opponent. What was he going to do next? Apparently, Aguilar soon took off the threatening pressure by sheathing the blade once more. But not before giving one final glance at him.

**A warning.**

Arno wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. Even old dogs could have some bite to them. _Along with some bark_ , Arno thought dryly.

* * *

Cal shifted in her sleep. A hooded figure stood guard as she twisted and turned. Eyes scanned her being in contemplation. Did he truly terrify her? All he did was train her...

Memories of Cal's face as he did just that reminded him that he had to keep his distance. Aguilar had the sneaking suspicion that the more he along with the annoying Frenchman interacted with her, the more fragmented her already fragile mind would be.

He sighed. At first, Aguilar had been hesitant about her. Yes, he understood the current times by looking through his descendant's memories. But with that action came the more personal feeling of truly knowing her.

He looked down at the vulnerable woman before him.

" _Sé que te he lastimado pero por favor déjame protegerte._ " he spoke softly in his native language.

Yes, he would protect her.

Aguilar stood guard and watched the shadows carefully even though they were his tool. That meddlesome Frenchman was planning something.

 


	12. Home is where the heart is (Maria & Fem!Cal)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal never thought that she would have the chance to truly meet her soulmate. However, the Templars do something good for once and Cal ends up doing just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to Maria_and_Aguilars_Codex_1492 for reviewing, giving advice, and requesting.
> 
> I hope that this turned out okay. Personally, I don't think this is horrible, but a lot more could be done. So feel free to request a continuation if you want me to write more of Maria and Fem!Cal. If not, I completely understand. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Cal didn't have the luck of her soulmate being an ancestor of hers. In that case, synchronization would have been much smoother and she would have gotten to 'meet' her soulmate.

No, Maria, Aguilar's mentor and fellow Assassin, was her soulmate and a long deceased one at that.

The sweeping writing of Maria's name was located across the small of her back.

An unreachable soulmark just like her soulmate.

''She had looked forward to meeting you." Aguilar had said. Cal merely sighed in reply. It didn't matter. Besides, Cal never did have much faith in soulmates.

Speaking of Aguilar, the man had become even less murderous towards her and more… protective in his own twisted way, that is. She supposed that being the soulmate of your lover would do that to you.

When Cal found out that people could relive the genetic memories of other people's ancestors, she jumped at the chance to relive Maria's memories. The Brotherhood graciously allowed her this chance as they would achieve smooth synchronization with Maria's memories and potentially gain even more brownie points with their more volatile brother, herself.

At the moment, Cal was resting from a rather intense Animus session, nothing like the ones with Aguilar however. The muffled footsteps of someone of light stature filled the room. Cal smiled.

"Hello, Maria."

For the first time, she welcomed the Bleeding Effect.

* * *

Maria came off as intense at first glance and in all honesty, it made Cal nervous. Her gaze made Cal feel that she was analyzing her and trying to find her weaknesses.

Vulnerability was what she felt, and Cal didn't like it.

Things stayed that way for a while until a key decision came up.

Getting rid of Aguilar or doing nothing about the Bleeding Effect.

To everyone's surprise, Cal refused to go through with the experimental procedure to get rid of Aguilar. Maria's gaze softened after that, and then she talked.

 _ **"Do you care about him?"**_ the feminine voice said.

"Yes. You know at first I felt something close to fear for him. But I…", Cal paused to put her next words more eloquently, "He was always there for me. That is all I could ever ask for." When everyone else expressed caution around her or merely was too busy to even care about her, Aguilar expressed his feelings about her in his own twisted way.

And then something shocking happened…

_Her soulmate smiled._

It was only a mere and slight lift of the lips, but a smile nonetheless.

* * *

Things were better with Maria as they conversed with one another occasionally. Maria never talked with Cal about them being each other's soulmates. Such discussions weren't considered necessary as both Assassins were together no matter what.

Cal would occasionally see a relaxed Maria talking with Aguilar. In a way, Cal envied both of them for having someone to trust in and converse so easily with.

_**Several months later…** _

Cal knew that this might be the end for her. She was facing against Otso Berg, feared Assassin Hunter and sometimes called the second coming of Shay Cormac.

The man had blindsided her and left her momentarily dazed. Even decades of fighting experience accessed through genetic memories wouldn't help against the gun aimed at her head.

Suddenly, the mental presence of Maria surged forward and Cal felt herself recede in her mind as a mere observer in her body.

Her body, that was now Maria's, shot her leg out and kicked the gun out of Berg's hand. Aguilar stood by, ready to replace Maria in defending Cal at a moment's notice.

Cal felt shocked at someone defending her for once. Why were they doing this?

It was only when the fight was over did the pair of assassins answer her question.

**"You are our home."**

 


	13. Shay x Fem!Arno (Haunting Soulmate AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arno just wanted to help end the man's suffering. Unfortunately, things weren't that simple as Shay Cormac haunts her... literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU Info: When your soulmate dies, they haunt you in a semi-physical form. 
> 
> Also, the Fem!Arno here is basically Post-Dead-Kings!Female Arno.

Arno Dorian looked impassively at the suffering man.

Oh, how she wished to kill so badly in the past. Now, Arno only felt pity for the Assassin Hunter. She had briefly attempted to hunt him in the past before realizing that getting revenge wouldn't bring her father back.

Just like how killing Germain didn't bring Elise back.

The dead just stayed dead, regardless.

“You will not survive,” Arno unsheathed her hidden blade and walked towards the dying Assassin Hunter, “However, I can guarantee you a quick death like you did with my father.”

Not particularly caring for the man in the least, Arno sheathed her blade into Shay Cormac’s chest. Not of hate and rage like she did with Germain but of mercy and an odd sort of kindness.

“Rest in peace, Shay Patrick Cormac.” She said his name softly as the man passed on.

Arno sighed. She would need to pay the man respect by giving him a marked grave at least. With a large amount of strength that came with carrying the Guillotine Gun, Arno grabbed the corpse by his back and waist and hoisted him up onto her shoulder

* * *

“Could you mark the grave with this information?” Arno gave the tombstone engraver Shay Cormac’s general information.

“Sure thing, sir. I can have it ready in two days.”

“ _Merci._ ” Arno said and walked away from the shop. Her weapon rattled against her back with each step she took. The female idly adjusted the weapon and secured it to her back once more.

Arno looked around tiredly. Where was a tavern when you needed one?

She saw a small sign that proclaimed ‘Tavern’. Huh, Arno supposed that you could find one when you needed one.  
“Time to go drink myself to sleep... again.” and get into a few bar fights, she added silently. No need to let the civilians around here know that.

Arno walked over to the tavern and entered it with the smell of alcohol and the sound of lively music in there hitting her senses.

She walked over to a table and motioned for some wine. Once brought to her by a smiling barmaid, Arno drank large gulps of it.

As she began the rather unhealthy process of drinking herself to sleep again, Arno finally realized that she killed her father’s murderer. No sense of victory or righteousness was in her.

She had just killed a dying man out of mercy. Nothing more, nothing less.

I shouldn’t think about it. I did the right thing, she assured herself. But something just felt off with her, right now.

Suddenly, a drunkard knocked into her, ”Watch it!” He snarled.

Arno’s temper tended to increase with the alcohol she consumed. So, it was no surprise when she knocked his teeth out.

“You want to fight, _Cannard_?” She smirked back.

The life of the tavern seemed to halt suddenly. The drunkard made a face of pure and utter horror before fainting.

“You that scared?” she chuckled out. Arno looked around to see faces of terror and horror around her.

She turned around to see the hooded face of Shay Patrick Cormac.

“ _Merde!_ ”

“Why hello, lass,” Shay smiled walked closer to her. Arno stood her ground despite the movement. “It seems you’ve gotten into a little bar fight. How cute.”


	14. Take away the pain (Maria & Fem!Cal)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Soulmate AU where you can take your soulmate's pain away at the expense of bearing it yourself.

When she learned that soulmates could take away each other's pain as long as they would choose to bear it, Cal swore that she would never let such a burden be lifted from her and onto another.

Her oath was made under the heavy wool of childhood innocence.

But still... even after her mother's death, Cal never let the thought of asking her soulmate, if she ever even met them, to take away her pain, whether emotional or physical.

And then she met Maria.

Thus, her oath became a fact.

As Cal lay bleeding on the cold floor, she pondered this with the delusion that came with blood loss. Well, as much as she could with the pain. Never had she felt such pain. Even in Aguilar's memories and her occasional bar fights the pain wasn't this much.

The damned pole embedded in her leg throbbed as if reminding her it was there.

 ** _'Cal.'_   **Aguilar's voice was painfully loud in her mind.

"Not now. I-I need... to stop the bleeding." She took off her jacket and tried to staunch the bleeding without taking out the pole.

The pain only got worse with the contact and pressure of the shirt on the raw flesh. She bit back a scream and tried to hold off the waves of pain.

**_'Cal.'_ **

"Shut up." Cal snarled. Now was not the time for another lecture on how she shouldn't have herself into such a bad situation.

It was only the sudden relief that came with the feeling of absolute nothing did the female Assassin finally notice the figure in front of her.

"Maria." Cal breathed out. Her soulmate shook minutely in pain and pain was obvious in her expression despite the Spaniard trying to hide it.

"You need to give it back. I can take it, okay?" Maria shook her head at her soulmate's protests and assurances that she could handle it. Even with her high pain-tolerance, Maria still had a difficult time managing the pain. There was no way she would let Cal, an inexperienced Assassin and her soulmate, handle such agony.

Cal felt something... something inside of her go dark at Maria being so vulnerable in her agony. She looked at the nearby communicator and crawled determinedly toward it.

She would survive...

And then get revenge on the bastards that did this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing my first Maria & Fem!Cal chapter has got me liking their friendship. I think I'm going to write more of their relationship later on as well. As of the moment, I'm still stuck on Fem!Arno and Shay (Sorry). I'm pretty sure that I'm writing way too much of that pairing, but I just really enjoy writing it. But I'll still diversify in regards to relationship in Forever Marked. If it isn't too much to ask, what do you guys think of my Fem!Arno/Multi work, "I'm gonna live, I'm gonna fly"?
> 
> Well, thanks for reading!


	15. Take me to see the world I (Fem!Arno x Shay)

“I know you talk to that blasted weapon of yours, Arno.” The said woman polished the antique weapon in her possession.

“I. do. not. talk. to. my. Guilltoine. Gun.” Arno pronounced each word with care. Why did Elise always think that she talked to the weapon handed down each generation of the Dorian family?

Elise merely sighed in exasperation, “You need to get out more, my friend.” Before Arno could reply, she shoved a ticket and a stack of money into her hands.

“What-”

“I want you to travel the world and live your life,” Shocked, Arno couldn’t make a reply to what her friend has given her and done for her.

“Elise, I-I can’t accept-”

Elise ignored her refusal, and continued on, “I only have one condition…” Arno sighed. Of course, there was always a catch with her friend.

“You need to travel with a friend of mine.” Arno blanched. Didn’t Elise know that she didn’t well around strangers?

“He’s a good man and can protect you while you’re traveling. I worry about you, Arno.” The woman nearly scoffed at the idea of someone protecting her for once. But Elise had that pleading look in her eye… and Arno relented.

“I never could say no to you, Elise.”

* * *

Arno idly traced the Red Cross covering a part of the arrowhead like symbol that covered the expanse of her forearm.

Her soulmark.

The repeated motions of tracing the temperature changing soulmark calmed her yet did nothing to soothe her irritation.

She tapped her foot impatiently. When was her new...travel partner going to be here?

“Arno Dorian?”

“Yes?” She turned to the see the inquiring person. A fairly large man with a scar crossing over one eye was now in front of her. He was dressed in a black coat with some crimson accents. Overall, a quite intimidating man.

“I’ve been looking for you, lass.”

“And who are you?” Ignoring the man’s statement, Arno asked bluntly.

“I’m Shay Patrick Cormac, your new travel partner. Pleased to meet you.” The ma-no Shay said politely.

“The pleasure is all mine.” She said the polite saying somewhat vacantly. It was hard to believe she was actually going to do this.

Travel around the world.

While Arno as lost in her thoughts, her soulmark gave a pulse of warmth. It was a shame that she didn't see the look Shay gave her.

Meanwhile, the woman's thoughts took a new direction. Shay Cormac... why did that name sound familiar?


	16. Hope (Fem!Desmond x Daniel Cross)

Daniel Cross looked over his drink to see his soul mate surrounded by her other soul mates.

Key word: other.

As it just so happens to be, Desmond Miles happened to have some of the greatest Assassins in history as her other soul mates.

As he dwelled on this, another drunkard began walking toward her only to suddenly have their bank account drained.

The Templar turned his eyes to the man responsible for such a… unfortunate incident.

Aiden Pearce. Also known as the Fox and master hacker with exceptional combat skills. When Daniel did a bit of digging into his history, the only thing the Templar's had on him was his military history. Anyone who came after Aiden or his family ended up dead.

It was fair to say that Daniel would take any Assassin over Aiden Pearce.

He took another sip of his White Russian. He dryly thought that his ancestor would be rolling in his grave at what he was drinking.

He decided not to dwell on Desmond, and his attention lazily wandered to the other occupants of the strangely popular bar.

The drawing attention of a struggle drew his eye to the soulmates of Frenchie.

Shay Cormac seemed to have picked up some conversation with Frenchie. He idly noted their identical scars crossing over their eye. Hm, they must be soul mates.

 _Fate must have a cruel sense of humor to pair Assassins and Templars together_ , Daniel thought.

Axeman, as some called him, had a rather menacing look on his face as he walked towards Shay. Daniel scoffed and wished his comrade ‘Good Luck’.

Shay would need it as Arno’s other soul mates began to approach him as well. The one in the green coat seemed to be readying a gun. Who brings a gun to a fist fight? Then again, Assassins don’t exactly fight fair.

The unmistakable sound of a bar fight could be heard even at Daniel’s corner of the bar.

Daniel eventually got bored of the brawl between the Baguette Boyband and focused his attention elsewhere.

The amusing fight between the Spanish Assassins and the two Templars over Callum Lynch was interesting, to say the least. Aguilar de Nerha and Maria was practically hovering over their soulmate protectively while glaring murderously at the Templars. Juhani Berg and McGowen apparently weren’t deterred by the aggressive display and seemed to aim for a friendly conversation with an uncomfortable Callum.

Daniel sighed in sympathy. His rather oblivious soulmate had those guard dogs that call themselves Assassins ward him off. Even Aiden Pearce gave him the 'stink eye' per say when he came close to her.

Okay, maybe there reasoning was well… reasonable. Since he may have knocked her head with some rather unnecessary force.

That little incident didn’t earn him any brownie points with her soulmates even though Desmond herself seemed to have gotten past that.

The tired Templar felt envy for those around him. Well, maybe not McGowen and Berg as they seemed to have gotten nowhere with their own soulmate.

Daniel never considered himself to be captivated by the concept about soulmates. But the potential in the relationship between soulmates fascinated him. Even discounting that, Daniel had his own personal reasons regarding his… the situation with Desmond Miles. In her own way, Desmond saved his life.

Before he became sane and Desmond saved the world, there was her, a gun, and of course Daniel himself. He had begged for Desmond to kill him with the desperation of a dying man yet the only response he got was the connection between her fist and his face.

A painful connection but one that changed his life, for better or worse.

The moment their skin made contact, the storm in Daniel’s mind gave way to his eye of the storm.

Desmond Miles.

Needless to say that all good things in life had come to an end in Daniel’s life and his soulmate would be no exception. The remainder of her burnt arm only solidified that belief.

That was why Daniel was okay, not content never content, with letting her other soulmates be with her yet not himself. Best to let things take their course without getting involved. He only recently regained his sanity. To lose such a precious quality would truly be the end.

So why did he want to take such a risk when he looked at her?

“Do you want to join us for a round of pool?” Daniel looked up from his glass to see his soulmate. He opened his mouth to make a gruff yet polite refusal only for one important word to come tumbling out of his lips.

“Sure.”

The man knew that she would be gone too, like all the others. But even the cynical part of him wanted to have this moment of peace.

As Desmond, with that scarred smile of hers, grabbed his hand in an effort to have him go faster. The ever-present whispers of the dead receded and Daniel’s lips twitched in something that for once wasn’t a smirk.

Daniel often thought himself as right and never doubted himself. But he wished that he was wrong. Wrong that she would leave him. Wrong that he would never find happiness in his life.

Was this what some called hope?

Daniel decided then that her soulmates could have her.

But only he would have this moment.

This moment of something that resembled hope, for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's ending got deleted somehow, so I had to rewrite this. That may explain the sudden change in the story.
> 
> To the Anonymous that wanted Fem!Desmond x Aiden Pearce:  
> I just got the Watch Dogs game, today! Therefore, I will be gladly writing it soon. Until then, here is a cameo of Aiden Pearce.


	17. I'll meet you again (I swear) [Fem!Arno x Shay]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno dreams of her past life and somehow ends up reuniting with her soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wrote this on a whim as I was looking through lists of Soulmate AUs and there was a certain one that appealed to me. So this was written. Anyway, feel free to request something. The next chapter will either be a Maria x Aguilar Soulmate AU or a Fem!Desmond x Aiden Pearce one as I have now gotten Watch Dogs. Thanks for reading!

In hindsight, Arno didn’t know that her book, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, would be such a great hit. Although the same could not be said for the game adaption of the novel…

Arno didn’t even truly imagine or develop the story herself. It was more of a diary for her in a very strange way. The contents of her book came from those strange dreams of her.

From the cries for freedom in the French Revolution to the blood-stained blade of the Guillotine Gun, Arno remembered it all. Well, except for a mysterious hooded figure with black and crimson robes. The blood-red cross on the buckles across their chest stood out all too clearly as if she was focusing solely on it.

Templars were what came to her mind at the symbol. Mixed emotions clouded her mind at even the mention of the word.

Because it was beginning to affect her amount of sleep, she resolved to write her dreams down as a way of therapy for herself.

It worked. At least until she saw another book called Assassin's Creed: Rogue. Strangely enough, the plot and events at the end of the book aligned perfectly with that of her book.

Coincidence?

Arno thought not. But she shrugged it off as some author named ‘Shay Cormac’ wanting to write a prequel for her book. Not that she minded honestly. Arno didn’t fiercely protect the copyright of her book.

At the moment, Arno was at a book signing event for Assassin’s Creed: Unity with eager fans wanting to sign her book. She usually didn’t like crowds but seeing people wanting to buy her book and read it was… nice.

As she continued to get lost in her thoughts, another hand gave her book to sign and she opened without a second glance to the person. Just as her pen came down to write her signature on the paper, Arno stopped at the unfamiliar words on the cover.

I’m sorry I took so long.

Vivid memories flew beneath her now closed eyelids. A pressure between her temples heightened and Arno clutched her head.

_“I promise you we will meet again, lass.”_

_“You lie.” She coldly said as her soulmate bled out before her. However, some part of her softened at her once friend’s words, “If we do, I hope it will be under better circumstances, Shay.”_

_But by the time she said that he had already passed away with blood dripping down his lips. Her heart twisted at the morbid sight her former friend made._

_“Rest in peace, old friend.” She whispered to the cold corpse. For, she would get no such thing in her life now._

_Arno thought her peace died when she found out that Shay was a Templar given the mission to kill her._

_No, it was when he died._

_Shay always did take something from her each time._

“Shay.” she breathed out.

The man grinned, “So you remember. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, lass.”

Only then did she realize the situation she was in.

Arno had just reunited with her soulmate from a past life. Oh, and also her soulmate also written Assassin’s Creed: Rogue.

Before she decided to smack herself for her obliviousness, Arno resolved to get one last word in.

“ _En effet, ma chère âme soeur._ ”


	18. And so she told them to burn (Krati & Fem!Arno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Who are you?” Arno whispered into the darkness that was her mind. Her voice like that of a gentle wind caressing the flickering flame of a candle.
> 
> But she was the flame. The lone flame surrounded by darkness.
> 
> Krati

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kind of dark Soulmate AU. Also, this chapter is a Far Cry Primal/Assassin's Creed Crossover. I hope you enjoy reading the chapter!

From the moment the cool metal of her father’s watch slipped out of her numb hands, the ever present voices rushed into her head. They whispered of despicable things that were horrifying to her young mind.

Blood. Death.

Burning.

One voice stood above them all. A male voice that echoed strong and firm in the hollows of her mind. He told tales of his mother’s brutal killing of him and his burning need for vengeance-

**_burnburnburnburnBURN_ **

He constantly murmured such things into her mind with a vengeance laced with the unmistakable bloodthirst that even a child could recognize.

Arno knew that this voice was her soulmate, her destined. Yet was her other half supposed to tell such things to her? To whisper exactly what kind of things she should do to her father’s killer?

The first few weeks after her father’s death was by far the worst. His voice haunted her every waking moment and even her dreams.

Her dreams.

They were filled with the horrible smell of burning flesh and the dark eyes of her-no his mother… her soulmate’s mother. She remembered the rough feel of the mask rubbing against her skin.

And then there was the death… his death.

Arno once heard of people being burned alive on the cross. But this was something else… it was just brutal.

She felt herself being thrown into the hungry flames licking the edges of the pit. Arno heard the chants of the tribe… the Izila around her. The consuming feeling of rage boiled in her chest at the Sun Goddess herself.

Her mother.

And then the flames engulfed her, but not before she gave one last defiant scream at those who wronged her.

She would get revenge.

Arno woke up with her heart beating wildly and eyes shot open in fear. At this point, she would have run to her father… but he was dead.

Her father was dead.

deaddeaddeaddeadDEAD

Arno gritted her teeth at the chanting reminder the voice kept on repeating.

“Shut up.”

deaddeadhe’sdeaddeadKILLED

“I said shut up!” Her hands slammed against the nightstand she was leaning against in rage. Child-like frustration mixed with something… darker boiled in her.

What she did not notice at the time was pitch black burn marks in the shape of her hands marring the formerly pristine wood.

* * *

“Elise!” she shouted after her friend in horror. Arno struggled to push off the debris on her only for her eyes to widen at the dreaded sight in front of her.

Germain’s sword clashed against Elise’s and the crackling of energy surrounded the nearly mystical object. Arno could feel her feet running instinctively with her hand outstretched in a vain attempt to stop the inevitable.

A brilliant gold lightning hit Elise and she crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Arno shook her friend to wake her. She was just asleep… right?

**_NotdeadeadeadnotdeaddeadDEAD_ **

The familiar dark feeling the voice brought with him made her tremble.

This. was. Just. too. Much.

And Arno could just feel something in her snap.

Her body relaxed as if she was just a puppet and someone had cut her strings. A deranged look filled her golden eyes and she slowly got up and stumbled towards Germain.

“What are you?” he breathed out. She giggled in mad amusement. Indeed, what exactly was she?

Who- no what was she?

Arno could feel her surroundings darken and focus into a single point. The familiar weight of her mask rested on her face and with it, the sizzling feeling in her chest spread to her hands.

Arno lunged at Germain.

“Burn.”

And so he did.

* * *

“Who are you?” she whispered into the darkness that was her mind. Her voice like that of a gentle wind caressing the flickering flame of a candle.

But she was the flame. The lone flame surrounded by darkness.

**_Krati_ **

She could feel the name in her very soul. An odd way of saying such a thing. But that was how it simply was. Numerous foreign words with accents and harsh speaking filled her mind but only the true meaning could be interpreted.

“What are you?” she asked again.

**_Avenger_ **

Multiple words filled her head but that exact one stood out.

Arno let out a sigh. Perhaps, this was why they were soulmates. Two of a kind, like they said.

They both understood one another.

* * *

“You killed my father.” She softly spoke to the Templar. Arno moved with the trained movement of a killer as the mask, with its primitive features and crystals sticking out, shifted on her face.

Shay Cormac stood impassively before her with his rifle drawn and Arno…

She smiled.

After all, she spent years tracking the man down. Master Assassin hunter wasn't quite easy to find. But that wouldn’t stop her.

Nothing would stop her.

“I know.” He looked at her straight in the ey-well mask at least. Arno vaguely wondered if he did the same to her father when he killed him. She had to admit that the man did have some guts to look at her in the face.

Then again, most of her victims were too busy screaming in pain to bother.

“So then you should realize that I am about to kill you, Monsieur Cormac.”

Arno didn’t even bother to dodge the first dart at her. With hands sizzling with her soulmate’s eternal rage, she threw her hands palm first in front of her.

And commanded everything to burn.

Volatile flames exploded out of her outstretched hands and nearly threw her back from the sheer force. Shay managed to throw one last dart at her before jumping out of the closest window.

Unfortunately for him the dart never made it past the wall of flames shielding her.

**_KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLHIMKILLKILLKILLBURNBURN_ **

Her soulmate hissed fervently into her mind.

Yes, she would kill him. Arno would kill Shay Cormac.

She licked her lips in anticipation and jumped down from the burning building.

The hunt wasn’t over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I am really sorry for not posting an Fem!Desmond x Aiden Pearce or at least Maria x Aguilar chapter even though I said I would. I am currently sick right now so once I feel better and my mind is clearer then I will post a Fem!Desmond x Aiden Pearce. I hope this did not bother you too much. Thanks for reading!


	20. Unforeseen V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shay and Gabriel get into a name-calling fight and Arno just wants to get out of there.

“Templar dog.” Gabriel hissed at the Templar before him. The familiar sound of a phantom blade loading made Arno tense.

“It’s good to know you have such a high opinion of me, Master Gabriel.” Her mentor’s title was pronounced in an almost mocking way.

Gabriel was the one who made the first move by triggering his phantom blade and getting a dart to the shoulder in retaliation.

“I know your dear student wouldn’t want you killed, but I really do.” The Assassin Hunter’s statement was punctuated with the familiar hiss of a poison gas bomb going off.

Arno struggled to get out of the vicinity. The only thing she could manage was an admittedly pathetic crawl and even that wouldn’t help her.

“Time to get you out of here, love.” Arms dragged her up and a whistle could be heard to her left. She glanced at Shay, with his gas mask still on, and saw him staring at something to the west…

Was that a balloon?

A dot of red hair belonging to a body made her smile in relief.

Elise.

Her soulmate helped her limp to a building and Arno realized just what he was planning.

“No.” she warned him.

“Yes,” he shot back. His arms released her and she stumbled back. In Arno’s struggle to find something to balance herself with, she reached out towards Shay’s back and clung on.

It was only when he started moving did she realize he was still going to go through with his plan.

It could have been seconds or minutes to her as Arno wouldn’t quite know with her eyes shut tightly. She did not like trusting her life to a Templar. One could say this was something ingrained in her from her Assassin training and beliefs.

“Hurry up, you two!” The clear voice of Elise rang clear to her ears.

“An ax to the leg could, I don't know, cripple you.” The sarcastic comment seemed to make the balloon go faster in its path away from them. Shay let out something akin to a huff as he along with his additional passenger on his back went faster on the rooftops of Paris.

Shay suddenly jumped and Arno realized that they were now hanging by the ropes. As an Assassin who was used to high heights, she wasn’t quite terrified as she was nervous. Hanging literally by a rope could do that to you.

“I need you to get off my back and hang onto the rope.” Shay grunted in effort as the burden of carrying another person bore down on him, “Elise and I will pull you up.”

Arno didn’t even bother to nod. She quickly positioned herself at the bottom of the rope and hung on for dear life. Moments like this made her thankful for Icecream and Greencoat’s impromptu Parkour training.

Icecream and Greencoat… their very names brought a feeling of guilt and something akin to shame. She had just betrayed the Brotherhood, all that her father and mentors stood for.

But still, as both of her Templar friends pulled on the rope, she couldn’t bring herself to regret the choices she had made leading up to this very moment.


	21. I'll find you I [Cal/Multi] [Maria x Aguilar x Fem!Cal]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno meets her soulmate, specifically the French one, as she is delayed in her efforts to find a way out of the strange world she was trapped in. Some slight Arno x Fem!Cal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Maria_and_Aguilars_Codex_1492

“You should dance, mademoiselle.” The sudden statement directed at her made Cal turn towards the voice.

Arno Dorian.

“It’s you,” she said almost accusingly. Was he the one who brought her here?

“Indeed. May I have this dance?” Arno bowed before her and took her hand. A brief kiss that was considered customary in the time period made her almost recoil.

“There’s no mu-” The upbeat music of the 1930s made her pause.

“You were saying.” Arno winked at her.

“Why is there music from the 1930s in the 1800s?” Arno lightly pulled her hand and guided her to the strangely empty dance floor.

“It’s your mind, my descendant,” he whispered into her ear. The close contact made her stiffen. Her past experiences with her ancestors haven’t gone all that well with her homicidal ancestor trying to murder her in Animus induced hallucinations.

It was this thought that caused her to narrow her eyes at him and tense the muscle responsible for triggering her hidden blade.

As the lively music played, Arno smiled charmingly at her with the eyes similar to that she had seen on him during missions, “Just follow my lead.”

The Frenchman snaked an arm around her waist and nudged her feet gently. His feet moved slowly as he showed her the steps. Cal clumsily tried to mimic such movements only to step on his toes with a satisfying crunch.

It was safe to say that the slight wince he gave made her smirk in vindication. She didn’t like to play games, after all. Besides, she hated dancing.

The cycle of stepping on the man’s toes and trying to just keep up with his movements continued for what could have been hours until the music faded.

“I think that is enough for now. Good… ah, footwork. Now is there anything I can do to assist you, my friend?” Arno shifted not so subtly as he briefly glanced down at his feet.

“Why don’t you start by telling what the fuck is going on?” Because seriously…

What the hell was going on?

The only thing Cal remembered was getting dragged back into the Animus and reliving her French ancestor’s memories. Well, apart from witnessing the slaughter that ensued when her fellow inmates tried to fight back only to be killed. While she had no personal attachment to them, the Creed had connected them in a way.

Cal snapped out of her reminiscing as she tried to focus on the accented voice of Arno. She had to for his English wasn’t quite understandable at times. French and English mixed in ways they should be together.

“Always one to get the point, aren’t you? I suppose I should tell you...” The Assassin sighed. Mixed emotions seemed to play out on his features before settling on a neutral expression.

“You are stuck in the Animus or rather actually in your mind and the machine itself.” Cal cast a disbelieving look at the mad hallucination her mind obviously conjured. Did the Templars make her high? That wasn’t quite out of the realm of possibility…

“And, no you are not high,” Arno said bluntly. His lips twitched in what could be seen as an amused smirk.

“I haven’t heard of this happening before.” she retorted. The group of Assassin she had allied herself with had never mentioned nor implied such a thing happening.

“You’re a special case. Always have been and always will be, Cal.” It was foreign to hear her name come from her ancestor’s lips.

“If you know so much already, then take me back,” she demanded. Enough games and dancing.

“I am afraid that is not within my capability, mademoiselle. But I can escort you to your new destination.” Arno pulled out of his father’s pocket watch as if to prove his point. Too soon, he muttered in French under his breath as he seemed to look at something past her.

Her blood ran cold at what she saw.

Shay Cormac.

With light blue and gray robes, the Assassin Hunter seemed to be looking for something. Somehow, this scene seemed familiar to her.

To her surprise, Charles Dorian was walking out and calling for Arno. Her eyes widened in realization for only then did she realize the truth.

They were in a time loop. Well, at least a memory that kept on replaying itself.

A pang of uncharacteristic sympathy could be felt towards her ancestor. This was something she wouldn’t wish on even her father.

In that very moment, Cal decided that her mind was needlessly cruel. Even with her troubles when it came to her ancestors, she wouldn’t have done this to them even as a hallucination. The vulnerable expression on Arno’s face said it all.

When Shay finally stabbed Charles Dorian in the chest with Arno looking helplessly on, Cal finally remembered something else.

Memories of McGowen killing her father along with her Assassin allies played in her mind’s eye. However, they made her only flinch slightly for the demons that haunted her memories were no strangers to her.

Arno and herself were quite similar in the orphaning department, she supposed. Ironically enough, the killer of Arno’s father had his very descendant murder her own father. Not that she was crying tears over it per say. Years of bitterness and hatred couldn’t be undone by few moments of understanding.

Cal wasn’t sure if anything could do that.

“I am afraid our business has concluded.” The noticeable stiffening in Arno’s posture brought a brief flash of concern for the man. She had lived through his memories, after all. Cal did not even have to be synchronized with him to know what he was thinking.

Revenge.

He moved forward and Cal gripped his arm in an attempt to stop him from making the very same mistake she did. She cursed at herself mentally for being concerned for someone that was clearly dead already. But still… the name running down her wrist made herself fight over what to do.

“I have my own demons to chase. Go chase yours, âme soeur.”

With that said, the Frenchman gently removed her hand from his arm and stealthily immersed himself into the sudden crowd of party goers in the room.

Despite the urge to just give into the insanity her mind created around her, Cal moved on. Giving up just wasn’t an option.

Like her soulmate had just said, Cal had her own demons to chase.

Maria.

Aguilar.

She was coming for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just for explaining what exactly happened to Cal. I couldn't resist adding Arno in here. In all honesty, I was listening to this song that sampled another song from the 1930s that just made me want to write that dancing scene with Cal and Arno. Anyway, this story will still focus on Maria, Aguilar, Ojeda, and potentially McGowen (I'm still thinking). Cal will meet at least some of the listed characters (Maria and Aguilar) in the next chapter for this. Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!


	22. Of soulmarks and branding [Shay/Fem!Arno] [Past Fem!Arno/Elise]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arno pays a higher price for her disobedience to the Brotherhood.

The glowering faces of the Council loomed over her kneeled self. Arno closed her eyes in an attempt to stay calm. She had disobeyed their orders multiple times and this time… she wouldn’t be so lucky.

Bellec seemed to have mixed emotions, but in all honesty, Arno knew he agreed with his superiors.

She had to prove her devotion to the Creed.

The offered branding iron shaped into that of the symbol of the Brotherhood weighed heavily in her shaking hand. She took off her coat and unbuttoned her shirt as the bystanders averted their eyes. Her soulmarks, in their crimson and black print, stood boldly out on the pale skin of her right bicep.

The sizzling heat of the branding iron could be felt even from a distance. She raised the handle of it and guided it to its destination.

Arno would prove that her soulmarks did not determine her fate.

The hot metal made contact with her skin...

And then everything burned.

* * *

Arno woke up to the sight of bandages wrapped around her aching bicep. Every movement made by her injured arm caused her to wince.

“Good job, pisspot.” Her mentor leaned against the wall next to her. He tossed her sword to the bed which she barely managed to catch. He caught her wince and added, “You won’t have missions for a while. I suggest you take the time to heal.”

“Figures.” she bitterly said. A glare in her direction made her close her mouth. She supported herself up with her only good arm and kicked her feet off the bed.

Arno had someone to meet.

Bellec gave her a verbal warning and one last glare before departing through the window. She walked over to the window. Looks like I can’t do my usual route today, Arno thought.

Street route it was then.

* * *

“You’re late-” Elise cut herself off with a gasp of horror, “Arno… what happened to you?”

“I got in some trouble with the Council.” the Assassin vaguely said. She didn’t want her friend to feel guilty or think that she was a liability in her quest for vengeance.

“Arno.” Elise narrowed her eyes at the woman across from her. The steely eyes of the redhead finally made the brunette relent with the slumping of her shoulders. Her flinch at the very action didn’t escape Elise’s notice.

“I am an Assassin with two soulmates for Templars. What exactly did you expect to happen?” Arno said harshly. The pain and humiliation finally getting to her.

She had just been branded like a slave.

The Brotherhood might as well change her records to “Property of the Brotherhood”.

“No. They wouldn’t...” Elise trailed off in vehement denial.

“They did.” Arno corrected, “Now, were you able to find-”

Elise suddenly stood up as her chair toppled back. Arno was confused by the amount of emotion her friend was showing towards her. They had long since drifted apart with them being on separate sides of a war.

“You let them do this to you… why?” The Templar’s voice was deadly quiet with the familiar strain of restraint laced in it.

“I had to prove my devotion to the Creed,” she stated blatantly. The pain in her arm seemed to intensify as the argument continued, “Please, Elise. I don’t want to talk about it.”

The dark look in the redhead’s eyes stayed for a few moments before she sighed, “This is not over.” she warned.

“It isn’t.” Arno agreed.

That talk never happened.

* * *

The barrel of his rifle poked in her chest as he pinned her to the ground, “Arno Dorian?” The Templar said.

“Depends, who’s asking?” Her remark must have meant something for he got up and offered a hand to her.

“Shay Cormac-” Her fist connected with his face and the man hit the ground. Arno shook her throbbing hand while the Irishman wiped the blood from his mouth.

“I suppose I deserved that.” He grinned with bloody teeth.

“You killed my father.” Arno bluntly said. The man was lucky he was her soulmate otherwise she would have done much worse.

“About that… I’m sorry for-”

“Killing him?” she interrupted.

“No, for not finding another way.” Arno looked into the man’s dark eyes and saw genuine remorse. Hatred and bitterness stained herself for all her life. Perhaps, it was time to let go of the past.

Arno scoffed at what she was thinking. The water in Francicide must have been tampered with for her to have such thoughts.

“I won’t kill you if that is what you came here for.” she gruffly said as she waved for another drink. Heaven knows she needed one for this.

“Good to know. But I came here to find you.”

“Should have come earlier, then. I would have greeted you with roses and wine.” Arno sarcastically said. Her soulmate really did have horrible timing, coming when he did on the anniversary of Elise’s death.

“Listen, I didn’t travel all the way here for-”

“For some deadbeat former Assassin of a soulmate that isn’t even worth killing.” she interrupted once more. Surprisingly, the man glared at her and said something akin to ‘Nay’.

“I came here to meet my soulmate and perhaps get to know them, lass.”

“Tough luck, for you then, Monsieur Cormac.” Arno coldly said.

“I make my own luck.” He oh so charmingly said.

That was it.

Her second soulmate meeting her and trying to get to know her made her sick. Memories of Elise kept on appearing and Arno knew she had to get away.

She tossed a handful of coins carelessly on the counter and left the tavern. A well-placed smoke bomb and a detour through an alley should deter the Assassin Hunter.

Right?

* * *

As it turns out, she was wrong. The man stayed in Franciade and followed her around like a beggar on the street, “Are you a lost puppy?” she questioned mockingly. Was she being a bad person, right now?

The answer to that was yes.

Did she care?

No.

“Do you just wander around, collecting artifacts?” he asked instead as Shay, she finally referred to him as that, continued to follow her.

“No.”

“I’m starting to think that is your favorite word, Arno.”

“No.” Her response to his question made Shay chuckle and even Arno herself. The brief smile quickly dimmed to a neutral frown as she tried to find the nearest entrance to the Underground.

First things first though, she needed to get rid of the Templar following her.

“I have business to attend to. Would you mind waiting here, Monsieur Cormac?”

“Yes, I would mind,” Shay smirked at the Frenchwoman cursing at him in her native language.

Blasted man.

Well, there went her plans for today. Arno sighed in exasperation while her feet walked themselves back to the tavern she was staying at. She might as well retire for the evening.

She busied herself with blatantly glowering at the Irishman beside her on the way back.

* * *

_Germain stood over Elise’s cold corpse with a branding iron shaped into that of the Templar cross. He lifted it and slammed it into her bicep._

_Right where her soulmarks and Assassin branding was._

_The metal burned through her skin and once again…_

_Arno screamed._

Her eyes shot open and the first thing Arno noticed was that hands were touching her.

Touching her soulmarks and branding.

She grappled and writhed with the stranger until the moonlight streaming from the window revealed the identity of the person, “Shay.” she breathed out.

The Templar stood before her, clad in his usual robes as if he was…

Leaving.

Arno smiled bitterly, “You were leaving, weren’t you?”

“No point in being where I’m not welcome, lass.” Her eyes hardened at his statement. She had to let him go. Everyone that stuck by her ended up leaving her. She might as well make this one less painful than-than… Elise.

“Then go,” Arno said hoarsely.

“Not before you tell me where you got that branding.” That anger…

Elise.

Fiery eyes looking at her in concern and anger made her flinch minutely. No, she could think about her. Not now...

“I thought the answer was obvious. Besides, this is not any of your business.” she sneered.

“I remind you of her, don’t I?” Shay looked at her knowingly. Sparks of rage ignited in her. Who was he to say such things? Who was he to suddenly walk into her life after ruining it from the very beginning?

“ _Shut up, you bastard._ ” she hissed in French. Arno shook for several seconds and tried to look steadily at his eyes.

That look…

Arno lunged at him.

With the nimbleness of a Master Assassin, Arno managed to sweep the legs out from under Shay and squeezed his neck threateningly. Her hidden blade was ready to be triggered with her muscle responsible for the triggering tense. His hands were not even pinned down as Arno left him a choice.

Kill her or risk dying.

Either choice would lead to the desired outcome.

His arms moved and Arno closed her eyes.

‘I’ll see you soon, Elise’ she thought.

Only for warm arms to embrace her. Arno froze as her hands rested awkwardly against her soulmate’s neck.

“A-are you an idiot?” she stuttered out.

“Yes, and so are you, lass.” The female suddenly felt tired. Tired of this rage and hatred directed at no one but herself. She felt herself go limp in her soulmate’s arms.

In another time, she would have felt embarrassed in being such a position with a man much less crying.

But Arno had long since lost her sense of shame in such matters.

In that moment, something shifted in her.

Her red swollen eyes looked at Shay in something other than contempt.

Trust.

“I know you aren’t her. It’s just…,” she struggled to find the words, “Like her, you were the only one that cared about what happened to me. The branding.”

She felt his body go stiff at the mention of what happened to her, “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Later...” Arno trailed off. Her vision became bleary and she yawned.

Emotions were tiring, she sleepily thought.

“Go to sleep, lass.” Even in her exhausted state, Arno could hear the underlying message.

Trust him.

And she did as the Frenchwoman drifted off into blissful sleep.

* * *

With her Guillotine Gun strapped on her back and Raider’s cloak swaying slightly, Arno walked to the waterfront. The Morrigan could be seen in the distance along with its Templar flag that, for once, did not bring a feeling of dread in her.

“Ready to see the New World?” She smiled as she turned around to face the voice.

“You already know my answer to that.” Her foot tapped impatiently and Shay, noticing her excitement, smiled.

“I hope you know that it was difficult to have you hitch a ride with me.” he teased. Ah, yes. The old belief that women brought bad luck at sea if they were on a ship.

“Just like how it was difficult for me to make sure you leave France alive.” she shot back. Arno had to pull some major strings just to make sure he along with herself wasn’t on the Brotherhood’s kill list.

“You strike a hard argument, lass.” Shay walked beside her as they neared the ship.

The Irishman suddenly halted in his steps and Arno realized they were in front of the Morrigan.

A fresh start.

Something that was truly unbelievable for someone like her yet it was going to happen because of the man offering his hand in front of her.

She took his hand into her own as they ascended the plank to the Morrigan. Her feet touched the wooden deck...

And then Arno was free.

Free from the Brotherhood that marked itself upon her very flesh and free from France, whose violence and bloodshed, forever tainted her hopes of peace and prosperity for the common people.

A simple ‘Thank you’ wouldn’t make its way past her numb lips. Words could be considered insignificant in trying to get her point across.

Arno always considered herself as a woman of action.

Perhaps, that was why Arno gently rested a hand on Shay’s shoulder. Her head turned away to avoid looking at him.

_Thank you._

A hand ruffled her hair, in reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be just one thousand words long but I couldn't resist writing the rest of it. Anyway, I tried to make this emotion, but I have the feeling it didn't turn out that way. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!


	23. A noose around my neck [Fem!Cal x McGowen]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really just a Fem!Cal-centric chapter and the pairing really isn't evident. Mostly because I still have trouble with writing McGowen and don't know how his relationship with Fem!Cal should be in a Soulmate AU. I guess that could be considered writer's block (not sure). If anyone has an idea on what their relationship should be like, please tell me. That would make things a lot easier for me, but it's up to you honestly. Anyway, I'm posting this chapter in a rush because I am going to be gone for the rest of the day for a meeting. I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Sometimes, Cal darkly wondered if her red string represented her ever so closer approach to her death and not her proximity to her destined. The noose around her neck tightened with every birthday she had until an invisible pressure would occasionally choke her.

This terrified her parents as she could see the mixed emotions in their eyes but one stood out.

Pity.

Cal decided then that she didn’t like that emotion. The look akin to one seeing a dying animal.

Back when she was in the system after her mother’s death, Cal only talked once about her red string and that was to the doctor that she was required to visit.

The look of concealed surprise on the good doctor’s face meant one thing:

Her red string wasn’t normal.

As a child, Cal was somewhat accepting of this. She didn’t quite care who her destined was. But as she grew older, the more resentment she felt towards the noose around her neck.

Because it was exactly that.

A noose.

It was used in hanging people and Cal had the very reasonable assumption that her soulmate may hang her with that red string.

How ironic that would be, she occasionally thought.   
And so she went through life would death breathing down her neck in the form of the red string looped around her neck.

Well, at least, until Abstergo happened.

* * *

Maria’s and Aguilar’s red strings were a mess, Cal once noted. They were still obviously connected to each other but there was another interwoven with their own that made the connections difficult to follow.

The appearance of Ojeda, the Templar Black Knight, along with his obvious connection with Maria and Aguilar made things crystal clear for her.

The three were a triad.

Seeing McGowen multiple times in her imprisonment with his usual heavy-lidded eyes and impassive face made Cal think that perhaps history was repeating itself.

Ojeda was the spitting image of Ojeda and that just brought back all the wrong memories.

His repeated indifference towards her brought something akin to muted relief to the female. After all, he had so much power over her with this puny red string around her neck.

* * *

As it turns out, the red string of fate was good for one thing.

Choking people.

The guards had come into her room with the intention of dragging her back into the Animus and Cal… she wasn’t going without a fight.

She slammed a guard into the wall and lunging at the next one with a fist lashing out. The hit connected with a sickening crunch that left a bloody nose and a dazed guard.

The next ones came in with batons and Cal was ready. It was just like fighting against hidden blades in her-no his spars with Maria-

No. She needed to stay focused.

Still, the presence of Aguilar watching silently across the room sent the very hair of her neck prickle in unease.

It was like a predator was watching her.

A baton slammed against her leg and Cal went down but not without bringing a guard down with her. She got her red string and pulled it against the guard’s neck. The man jerked and writhed with his comrades, standing and not sure what to do. After all, she was using the guard’s body to shield her own by pulling him partially on top of her.

Cal managed to get a hold of the unconscious guard’s baton and attacked the nearest guard. Unfortunately for her, Aguilar’s training didn’t quite come with the skills necessary to take five opponents at once with a blunt weapon.

Ultimately, it was a taser someone had handy that got her writhing on the floor.

They dragged her limp body to the Animus, not minutes later.

* * *

While McGowen took her to the Animus, Cal still had one last thing to say before possibly going insane, “So you’re my soulmate.”

The man beside her turned slightly towards her with heavy lidded eyes with the same cold detachedness she felt from Ojeda, “Yes.”

It was strange, she decided, to hear him talking. The man barely said any words in her presence. Trying to busy her nervous self, Cal looked at where her-no their red string was tied around him.

His middle finger.

McGowen suddenly stopped in his tracks and Cal realized why.

They were here.

Once she approached the Animus, Cal turned to give one last look at her soulmate.

In all honesty, she felt nothing towards him like he did to her. Apathy could be one word to describe what they felt towards each other.

And that was where their respective ancestor’s relationship with one another differed from their descendant’s.

McGowen walked towards her with a purpose in his steps and Cal remained still with no signs of any emotion inside of her other than the feeling of purpose evident in her features.

He held out the pair of hidden blades towards her in offering… and then he spoke.

He told her about the origin of the word ‘Assassin’ and of how he admired them. The way he looked at her in something close to challenging when he asked the question if she was one of them.

A part of Cal, the resigned part of her, rose in the face of challenge. The head of security’s very words made Cal be determined. And then there was that change… like something shifted in her.

No, it was not an epiphany that made her go back on her decision. She would still go into the Animus. It was… something and for what Cal still did not know.

EIther way, his words still had an effect on her and Cal didn't know what to think of it.

Whether McGowen did it intentionally or not, he may have just given her enough determination to get out with her sanity with the questions she had herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope McGowen and Fem!Cal weren't too out of character in this. I began reading the novelization last night, so hopefully that helped with their characterization. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!


	24. Fiery Eyes [Fem!Cal x McGowen]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her eyes reminded him of a past long ago with their hatred and fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned of out of character... characters.

The first time McGowen sees her something in him twisted at the familiarity of the sight.

His ancestor’s presence had stirred in the depths of his mind and McGowen found himself interested. That was how he knew that he had to stay away from her.

Callum Lynch.

His next encounters with her came with violence and desperation from his soulmate. It reminded him of her ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha with the same fire of hatred that Aguilar directed at Ojeda.

It was that look that McGowen’s indifferent appearance nearly reacted towards because Ojeda...well he remembered.

Blood dripping down his blade, the lifeless eyes of Maria… Aguilar’s roar of anger.

He-no they remembered.

From then on, he observed her from a distance. Sometimes, Cal looked at the camera in her room with cool blue eyes seemingly staring back at him.

Sophia hovered over Callum Lynch like that of an older sister tending to their sibling. The surprising tenderness in the scientist’s actions made McGowen cautious. This was something he needed to report to Alan Rikkin.

And so he stood next to the man himself, who observed the two with a frown marring his face.

“We are feeding the beast here.” he quietly said. His statement enforced what the man was about to do next. Inside, his ancestor did something akin to purring in content as the hunt was about to begin.

They both knew what was about to come. And McGowen… he did nothing to stop it.

* * *

“Now show me… which one are you?” he said with eyes looking imploringly at Cal. His hands held out the very gauntlets that slew his ancestor to her. She slipped them on with the practiced finesse that did not belong to her. He along with Ojeda looked on with hidden interest. Both of them thinking the same thing...

Which one was she?

* * *

McGowen remembered stabbing his blade impassively into the elder Lynch with heavy-lidded eyes as usual. He had noted that Joseph Lynch’s eyes were quite similar to his daughter’s only wiser yet ever so broken. McGowen decided that the look wouldn’t befit the ice blue eyes of Cal. Fiery eyes filled with consuming rage fitted her better just like her ancestor.

Perhaps that was why he later spared her life as he had the opportunity to take the shot. Her eyes were frozen with fear like a deer in headlights and he didn’t want them to be like that.

“Just shoot me.” she gritted out. Her hidden blades were broken from the force of barely stopping her fall from several stories. His gun aimed at her chest for a lethal shot. McGowen moved the gun several centimeters and squeezed the trigger.

The gunshot pierced the silence of the area with a body hitting the ground.

“Did you get her?” Sophia demanded over the comms.

“No. Target has escaped.” he quietly said as McGowen looked at the barely moving figure of his soulmate.

The hunt was still on… he would just need to wait a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of embarrassed with this chapter but I at least wanted to try writing from McGowen's perspective. As you can see, it did not go well. On the bright side, there's more McGowen in here than in the last chapter. Maybe I'll try again sometime when I feel like I can write him reasonably well. By the way, I welcome any constructive criticism whether it be about my grammar or characterization of the characters in this. Well, I hope this chapter wasn't terribly horrible and thanks for reading!


	25. The Outlier [Maria x Aguilar x Fem!Cal]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal was no stranger to being the outlier in life. But the curse of always being one seemed to have haunted her to the extend of her relationship with her soulmates, Maria and Aguilar.

It was common knowledge that there always was an outlier in a triad of soulmates. There would be one that didn’t quite have the relationship their other two soulmates had with each other whether it be by circumstances or simply fate itself.

The moment Cal entered the Animus and recognized the names of her soulmates. She knew that she was the outlier and it made her glad that time separated her from her soulmates.

While she never quite had much faith in the overblown idea of soulmates, Cal did have some hope that at least they would...in all honesty, she did not know what to expect.

But it certainly wasn’t this.

* * *

Cal really hated the bleeding effect. The ever constant presence of Maria and Aguilar in her life ironically brought a feeling of loneliness into her life.

After all, Cal knew what she was.

An outlier.

Something to be excluded from the rest. And that was exactly what happened with Maria and Aguilar keeping to themselves in her mind.

Aguilar only appeared to train her, while Maria quietly observed her from a distance with those intense kohl rimmed eyes of hers…

Even in her own group of comrades and the Brotherhoods, they came upon was Cal the outcast. She was still not quite trusted and reasonably so as she had led the enemy straight to the Apple. Only the fact that Cal made amends, in the end, allowed her a place among her ‘brothers’.

And as such, atonement didn’t come easier and trust came even more difficult.

That was okay though. Cal was used to keeping to herself.

Being alone for most of your life would do that to you.

* * *

Her phantom blade fired a berserk blade at the approaching guard. Cal activated her eagle vision to check the area for any more of the guards.

Five in the covered area.

Cal knew this was going to be less difficult than she thought. If she was going to play it safe, taking all of them out with her phantom blade would be the safe option…

Cal never did do that.

She readied her smoke bomb that would activate upon a nearby heat signature. Just needed to have those guards come…

And then they did along with the smoke bomb that rolled towards them.

The corridor erupted into a cloud of white smoke and her eyes watered from the gas. But having memories of such discomfort did not come without benefit and Cal pushed on. A clean slice into a panicked guard’s throat came easily to her along with guiding the next guard to attack his partner.

Soon, the guards unknowingly turned against each other.

“You better get moving, rookie.” Ah, William Miles. Mentor of the Brotherhood her group had recently met up with. Definitely not the most tolerable man and reminded Cal of her father in all the wrong ways.

“Yes, sir.” she murmured back with no undertone of sarcasm or rebellion. Arguing with the Mentor during a mission wasn’t the wisest thing to do and Cal wasn’t stupid nor suicidal.

Although, people begged to differ on multiple occasions.

She navigated the apparently endless passageways and halls of the building until she got to her desired destination.

The office of the building’s supervisor as well as Templar.

A few minute of fiddling with the lock got her behind schedule and Cal knew she had to pick up the pace.

_Click._

About time.

Cal carefully opened the door and once again activated her eagle vision to look for the location of the document containing the whereabouts of Álvaro Gramática’s lab.

“We’ve intercepted enemy’s comms. Your location has been compromised. The enemy is in route.” the clipped voice of William Miles never seemed so dreadful to her. Why was he always the bearer of bad news?

Instead of meticulously looking through it all, Cal swept the numerous papers off of the desk and once again activated her eagle vision. A golden paper hidden amongst the others got her attention easily.

There.

She snatched the paper and carefully stored it, “Document is secured. Going dark now.” Cal said quickly. Templars were going to be on her tail shortly. How the hell did they even get her location?

Deciding to focus on getting out of the building, Cal recalled the building schematics she memorized for this mission.

Left, right, then left got her to the stairs from her current location.

The muggy summer air of the Texan night greeted her with its heavy embrace and Cal began to run only to skid to a stop at what she saw.

The Templars had arrived and the only safe escape point was blocked.

“Well, shit.” Cal cursed. Unconventional intense parkour it was then.

Just as she was about to leap onto the neighboring building, the familiar sound of a gun cocking made her freeze in her tracks.

“Callum Lynch.”

“I prefer Cal,” she remarked. Stalling was advised in such a situation. But to be honest...Cal was screwed.  
The sound of another person, most likely a Templar, coming up the stairs seemed to have caused the person to make a sound of frustration. She turned towards the distracted figure and realized who it was.

Juhani Otso Berg.

The identity of the second person made her eyes widen in horror.

McGowen.

Yeah, make that doubly screwed.

“Callum! You need to get out of there-” A tad late in warning her, Miles.

It was difficult to choose between who would shoot her. Cal, like her mother, needed to die. Having information extracted from her ancestors’ genetic memories could endanger the Brotherhood and thus the Creed.

When Cal was truly loyal to something, she didn’t betray it.

And so she knew what had to be done.

Maria and Aguilar’s presence in her mind stirred as if in approval. Cal ignored their sudden reaction to her thoughts. They were her own and she would do this on her own volition. No one else’s.

Now, to choose her killer...

William Miles, based on his profile, would probably feel satisfaction in killing her. McGowen… she didn’t quite know. The demeanor of the stoic man was hard to place. But if she had to guess, McGowen would either feel nostalgia about what was going to happen or just wouldn’t feel anything at all.

McGowen it was, then.

Cal gave an acknowledging nod to her former jailer. They both felt something akin to respect towards each other. That much she knew from the little interaction she had with him.

Mimicking that of her ancestor, Cal suddenly turned towards the edge of the building and ran with warning shots on her tail. She twisted her body in mid-jump to project a throwing knife towards Berg. Several bullets hit their mark and dug their way into her soft body.

Probably from McGowen, she thought before the pain struck.

Her leap of faith began twisted from the injury as Cal’s body jerked from the bullets. The pain and shock of the injury screwed her jump majorly and the water coming up to her fast would most likely break some bones if her injuries didn't kill her first.

' _I hope you somehow survive on, Maria and Aguilar._ ' she thought. That was Cal's last thought before she slammed into the water.

And then everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came from the thought about the possibility of a soulmate getting excluded from a triad of soulmates for various reasons. In this case, it would actually be because of caution on Maria's and Aguilar's part. Of course, Cal, having been influenced by the belief given to her that one soulmate in a triad always being excluded, would have a more closed in view of such things and automatically assume that she was the outlier in her triad. Well, technically she is but not for the reasons she thinks. I hope this makes sense. 
> 
> There will be at least a second part for this with Maria and Aguilar finally having some interaction with Cal and possibly clearing up the misunderstanding she has about them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading.


	26. Story [Fem!Arno x Shay]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A grim reaper makes a deal that costs her, in the end.

Once upon a time, there was a grim reaper called Arno who was lonely. The woman wished for a companion or at the very least someone to cherish.

During one of her journey into the human world, Arno encountered Juno, a witch with a mysterious power.

Juno heard her wish in Arno’s heart and granted her wish at a price.

The grim reaper would give her scythe to her for one month in exchange for the witch binding her red string of fate to another.

Being the lonely woman she was, Arno easily agreed only to be faced with disappointment at the sight of her red string being bound to nothing.

“You have deceived me, witch!” she scorned Juno in her rage, “You will get nothing.”

The witch knew she did what was asked of her. Vengeance filled her heart at how she was cheated by the grim reaper, “No, you are the one who cheated. For that, I curse you to an existence where your destined one will always be separated from you for as long as this deal goes uncompleted.”

Arno laughed at Juno for even cursing her to a curse involving her nonexistent destined one, “I am not afraid of petty curses.” she sneered. The disappointment of having a lonely existence still stung bitterly.

It was only centuries later did the grim reaper regret her decision.

The grim reaper looked impassively at the human in front of her. The man was not unique with his military uniform. Soldiers were one of the most common kinds of people she escorted to the other side.  
“I didn’t know Death would be so beautiful and a lass.” the man remarked with a surprising Irish accent.

“I am not Death. I am merely its hand, the scythe that reaps.” she quietly said. Her hood covering her features with its encompassing shadow. Arno did not know why she was explaining such things to a human. But something compelled her to.

How strange.

She grabbed his hand in order to take him to the other side only to freeze at the warm sensation she felt.

Arno looked down in shock at their joined hands.

A crimson red string bound them together.

“Is that normal, lass?” Arno looked into the dark eyes of her soulmate. She felt joy at finding her destined one, but the horror she felt as well at the mistake she made with Juno soon decimated the wonderous feeling.

“Yes,” It was best the human did not know. A long healthy life would not be given to him if he realized the truth and decided to be with a grim reaper.

“Your fate dictates your life is not over yet, Shay Cormac. I will give you three chances to escape my grasp. Merely call my name ‘Arno Dorian’ to summon me and I will spare you.” Three small favors were the least she could do for the poor man. Even unknowingly being bound to a grim reaper brought great misfortune and tragedy into a person’s life.

“Wha-” Thrumming with power, her hand withdrew from his own. The man faded from her very eyes and returned to the world he belonged in.

Where he rightfully belonged.

“You are cruel, Juno.” The vengeful witch was already dead, and the deal would forever go uncompleted.

Arno knew that Life would punish her for disobeying it. But she had handled its eternal rage at her for centuries. Even a severe punishment couldn’t compare to that.

“May I never see you again, Shay Cormac.” For every time she had the chance to see him, his death would loom closer.

* * *

 

“Arno Dorian.”

The grim reaper immediately felt herself be summoned to Earth.

Her surroundings changed to that of a battlefield, a place she often frequented as souls were reaped in the masses.

To her surprise, Shay was holding a man with a tricorn hat and bloody attire.

“Save him.” her destined demanded. Arno looked at him in question. Did he truly wish to use a favor to save his friend?

The man only stared back at her just as determined, “Very well.” she relented.

Her ever so cold hand brushed against the clammy skin of Haytham Kenway.

The man’s soul returned to its now healed body.

And so he breathed.

* * *

 

The next time he used a favor, Shay didn’t even need to summon her.

A fire had broken out in a village he was passing through and once again her soulmate was holding a man.

Arno sighed in exasperation. Why did Shay always have to be so kind? Her favors weren’t things he should just give out even to his friends.

She didn’t even verbally question his action, though, and laid a finger lightly on the man’s burnt skin.

The ruined flesh became anew in its untainted form and the man’s soul breathed life back into the corpse.

George Monroe was alive once more.

* * *

 

Life’s power crushed her very being and Arno could feel herself being torn apart, “I-I do not regret what I have done.”

The being before her tore away her scythe from her numb hands.

A punishment.

“So that is how it’ll be.” A mortal life on Earth… how exactly was that a punishment?

Another wave of power coursed through her suddenly warm body and Arno could feel her lungs finally breathe in and her heart beat.

The woman didn’t know whether to thank Life for its rather odd punishment.

The next thing she knew after her first breath in centuries was the soft feeling of grass under her and the warmth of the sun caressing her skin.

Arno smiled for the first time in centuries. She was finally free.

Maybe not for eternity.  
But one could say that she could find eternity in a single moment.

And Arno knew that was true at this very moment.

* * *

 

“Arno Dorian.” A familiar voice said in its signature accent.

“Yes?” She turned towards Shay. Her features were not hidden as her hood was nowhere to be seen.

The man blinked in surprise at her undisguised face. But soon the human’s eyes hardened in their familiar determination.

“I need you to save him.” he gestured to his ill companion.

“This is your last favor. Are you su-”

“Yes.” he said.

Arno let a melancholic smile past her stoic facade, “As you wish.”

This time her entire palm touched the flushed skin of the ill man’s forehead. A rejuvenating effect could immediately be seen with him breathing easier and the skin returning to a healthy color.

Arno stumbled back as her last bit of power left her being. The all too natural feeling of not having the power of life and death surprised her.

Hands caught her just as she fell in her shock, “Are you okay?” a concerned voice said.

Arno quickly removed herself from Shay’s arms, “I-I’m fine.”

The man looked suspiciously at her until realization finally dawned in his eyes, “You’re human...”

“Both a punishment and reward.” She knew the man was curious by her vague statement. But some things just weren’t meant to be answered.

Instead, he asked, “Want to get a pint together, lass?”

Arno contemplated her answer for a moment before responding, “Sure.”

She was human as of now. Why couldn’t she interact with Shay?

It was at that moment Arno started to wonder if the witch’s curse actually was real.

The curse was real and she would find out all too late.

* * *

 

“No… please no.” she nearly begged. Arno should have never stuck around. This was all her fault. That cursed luck of hers made this happen. She knew-

Arno made her horse halt as she came across Shay. The man was lying on the ground with a gaping wound in his abdomen.

She jumped off her horse, stumbling to him with a wild look in her eyes.

“Shay!” The man groaned in response. He was barely conscious with the amount of blood lost.

“I… I’ll fix this,” A determined look akin to that of her soulmate filled her eyes, “Life! I-” A hand gripped her own suddenly. She looked down in shock at the now awake Shay.

“D-don’t. We both know-” he coughed blood, which trickled its morbid path down his lips, “-how much you suffered.”

Seeing the earnest look in his eyes, Arno relented. She just felt helpless with her power gone and the option of going back to Life was now gone with Shay’s wish of her not doing so.

“What am I to do then?” she asked.

“Be happy, enjoy life.” Arno smiled disbelievingly at such a thing to happen. He really didn’t understand what exactly would happen when he was gone, did he?

How blissfully oblivious, Shay was.

Arno had no intention of clearing his misunderstandings about such things.

Let him die in peace.

It was the least she could do.

“Let’s meet again.” she said instead, “In another life.”

“Aye,” he said that odd human word that she never fully understood jokingly. His eyes finally closed and the final breath that would release his soul happened.

And so Arno was alone once more.

* * *

 

“That’s a horrible ending, Mother,” a young Charles said bluntly.

“Well, it’s true.”

The child grinned mischievously, “So that means our ancestor was a grim reaper?”

“I suppose so, my child.” the mother chuckled.

“Then, I’ll name my own child Arno, then. After our ancestor who was the tool of death itself!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Charles.” she ruffled his hair playfully. Oh, how children dreamed of such things.

Decades later, Arno Dorian would be born once again into the world.

Even earlier than that was Shay Cormac.

And so another story began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is...weird to say the least. Then again, I tend to write weird stuff in the first place. But I wanted to experiment with writing, so here is a kind of fairytale-like chapter (?). Anyway, I might reply late to any comments in my stories, because a hurricane is going to pass through and so I might lose power. Speaking of the hurricane, if you live in the areas Hurricane Harvey is going pass through, I hope you will be safe. Well, I hope you enjoyed this rather odd chapter and thanks for reading!


	27. grab a wolf by its ears I [Arno & Fem!Arno] [Fem!Arno x Shay]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genetic Reincarnation Soulmate AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Weird Chapter. This chapter is really weird so anyone who doesn't like reading weird stuff should probably not read this. Well, if you don't mind reading this anyway, then feel free go on and read then.

“I don’t see why you can’t just kill him.”

“Because I’m different from you, and he may be as well.” Her past life smiled cynically at her words. Decades of wisdom and bitterness somehow seemed to be expressed in that one twitch of his lips.

“There is one thing you should now.” That damned knowing gleam in his eyes made Arno feel tempted to punch him, “l'histoire se répète.”

“Not French,” she remarked although she understood what exactly he was saying. Her automatic translation of his French gave her a headache. The transition of knowledge from her past life into her current wasn’t all that smooth.

Arno Dorian stood next to her in the mirror in all his smoke composed glory. The hood hiding his facial features reminded her of all that she wanted to escape.

The Assassins. Killing. Death.

“I can understand how parents feel now. To see their successors repeat the same mistakes is painful.” Arno Dorian said suddenly. The saddened look in his eyes reflected eternal melancholy.

The sheer emotion in his eyes made herself wonder if she was the first reincarnation he encountered.

“I’m not your child,” Arno told him. Although, there was truth in his statement. The man had raised her and taught her how to survive in his odd way.

“Indeed,” The almost smug tone in his voice made Arno nearly growl in irritation. Sometimes, the man was just so cryptic.  
She stalked out of the restroom with a glower apparent on her features. It was best for her to avoid mirrors for a while.

In her brooding, Arno neglected to notice the redhead hurriedly running her way. The smooth floor of the airport terminal greeted her now sore back.

A few choice words meant to go past her lips only to halt at the sight of the stranger sprawled across her.

Elise.

“W-what are you doing here?” The shocked woman was deathly pale, and her hands trembled. The memories of her-no his time with the redhead crashed into her.

A tear made its way down Arno’s cheek, “Are you okay, miss?”

Reality hit the woman with the subtlety of a sledgehammer as always, “...I’m fine. You just looked like someone I used to know.”

A familiar figure in one of the reflective surfaces a nearby restaurant hosted as decoration caught her eye.

Arno Dorian.

She hastily averted her eyes from the mirror.

“I am so sorry. Is there anyth-”

“No,” Arno said gruffly in her haste to go away from Elise, “But thank you.” she added.

 “Oh, well. Have a good day then, miss.” the redhead politely said before continuing on.

Arno still laid sprawled on the floor as her mind processed what or rather whom she just saw. A hysterical laugh bubbled out of her throat as she just found all of this to be…

Ironic.

Tears of laughter poured down her cheeks. Passerbys gave her strange looks as she laughed and laughed like a mad woman.

Her stomach hurt from the sheer amount of laughter and Arno breathed in and out to calm down. Now quiet, the woman stood up from the floor and straightened her clothes in an effort for a presentable appearance.

It was time to go.

* * *

 

“What if he kills you?” Arno Dorian questioned.

“I have nothing to lose,” she remarked. Everybody in her life except for her past life had either died or left. Arno didn’t wish for death. She merely wasn’t afraid of living life without regrets.

“Everyone has something to lose.” Ah, the daily tidbit of wisdom from Arno Dorian.

“You’re wrong if you are talking about the Creed,” she paused and looked into the piercing eyes boring into her, “I do not follow such things.”

“Which I still don’t understand.”

“Oh? Arny finally doesn’t understand something,” the mocking smile on her lips and the nickname made his eye twitch, “I’m not supposed to exist, you know that.” she added as an explanation.

People said that everyone had a purpose. They were meant to exist. But her...she was unnatural.

Someone who wasn’t supposed to exist in the first place.

After all, Arno Dorian was never supposed to have a female reincarnation. Arno’s family had reminded her of that all too much during her childhood.

As if reminding her, the manila folder weighed heavily in her hand as she conversed with her past self. For the seventh time already, Arno opened the folder thus taking her attention away from her pesky ‘guardian’.

It mostly contained lab notes of the experimentation phase of processing the original Shay Cormac’s DNA and cloning it. The second stage of the process was getting the soul or memories, depends on your beliefs, into the body. The Animus helped in this regard as it caused an intentional Bleeding Effect.

One interesting detail she first neglected to find before now was the fact that Shay was put through Abstergo’s equivalent of army training.

They had let him go into the world as a teenager, and he joined the military as a result.

Hopefully, the Templars didn’t influence him into being that of his past self. If so, well...Arno was a dead woman walking.

The pilot’s statement of the plane landing soon made her snap out of her train of thought. Arno put the folder into her backpack and waited as the airplane descended.

Whatever would happen next, she would have no regrets.

As if agreeing, her soulmark gave out a pulse of warmth.

* * *

“This is a horrible idea.” Arno Dorian warned her once again.

“Yes,” she agreed, “But since when have I been a rational person?”

“Never.” he sighed. A fond yet not quite bitter smile seemed to be directed at herself as Arno Dorian closed his eyes. The smoky form disappeared in the mirror and his presence once again

With her living or rather unliving obstacle gone, Arno faced the crimson door in front of her.

How fitting that it would be crimson.

Crimson for blood, Templars.

Of course, there was the less gloomy meaning with love. But Arno Dorian didn’t even know the Assassin Hunter enough to even have known about his love life.

Oh, how funny that it would be though.

Shay Cormac and Arno Dorian sitting down for tea while talking about their love life.

Arno Dorian’s presence prodded her in her mind, and she sighed. Arno was merely stalling, at this point.

She raised her closed fist and...knocked.

Moments later, her soulmark pulsed in warmth and the door opened to the face of Shay. Her face remained stoic as she said, “Hello. I’m Arno Dorian.”

Shay remained confused until realization dawned onto his dark eyes, “Oh.”

“Yes, oh.” her lips tilted upwards in a resemblance of a smile.

Well, this would be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the genetic reincarnation idea from a movie I watched a while ago. I think it was Jupiter Rising. I hope this chapter wasn't too weird. But who am I kidding, I write weird stuff all the time anyway. 
> 
> If anyone is curious, my home did not get flooded nor got damaged by a tornado. I was very lucky to be in the western part of Houston along with having two retention ponds to hold the bayou in. Speaking of the bayou, it was rising to the point of only having a foot in elevation left before it went over the top of the bank. Luckily, it stopped raining in my area today and is actually very beautiful right now! As for flooding, water had kept on collecting in the backyard and would have flooded the back door if it wasn't for the sand bags. I'm really glad my home along with my neighbor's did not flood as I don't really have a way of getting to the roof. Well, I hope that anyone who is affected by Harvey is safe and okay.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	28. How to court an Assassin [Shay x Arno] [Elise & Arno]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Featuring a confused Shay, a protective Elise, and a not as oblivious as previously thought Arno.
> 
> OR
> 
> In which Elise gives love advice to Shay.

_**Step 1: Don’t kill them or their comrades.** _

“Well, that won’t do. You already...” Elise trailed off as she thought of what exactly Shay did to Assassins.

“I kill them. Yes, I know that.” Shay said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“I suppose you need to compensate for that then,” Looking at him once over, Elise added, “You’re lucky Arno isn’t all that hateful to Templars in general.”

“I make my own luck.” Elise rolled her eyes at the man’s overused statement.

“Oh, and don’t use that phrase all the time. It gets tiresome.” Well, at least for her it did.

In the end, Shay ended up following Elise’s advice to some extent when a deadly ax-wielding Assassin and his merry band of other murderous Assassins came after him.

The sudden increase of bounty on his head confidently coincided with Shay’s first meeting with his soulmate.

Shay managed to survive the fight with smoke bombs and darts. Not an easy thing to accomplish considering that the Assassins weren’t holding back like he was.

Let's see if he could truly handle the heat though.

* * *

**_Step 2: Give them medicine._ **

Shay stared at the bottles of medicine in his hand and gave a questioning look to the smirking redhead in front of him.

“Arno loves these sort of things,” Elise noticed the Irishman’s doubt, “Trust me when I say she will be more than grateful to you for this.”

The Templar sighed tiredly. The exhaustion from evading Arno’s ‘guard dogs’ was finally catching up to him.

“You know that this could be worse for you,” Elise smirked in vindication, “I remember my father once telling me how close you were to breaking the truce and assassinating Charles Dorian yourself.”

Shay froze at her words. A warning look directed at her told everything Elise needed to know.

He was serious about Arno.

Good, she thought. Otherwise, Elise would have needed to call in certain favors to… relocate the Templar.

Step 3: Give them food (more specifically baguettes)

“Are you serious, lass?” he deadpanned. A baguette in his hand and a pastry in the other was an almost comical sight to Elise. Weapons occupied those hands frequently. Thus the view of food held by them was… funny to say the least.

“Yes.” She didn’t give a reason to why he should give such gifts. Sometimes, even she didn’t understand Arno.

Just before the man moved to leave, Elise idly remarked, “Remember not to get caught by his guar-err friends.”

And to not give to Arno during a mission, else he would use it as a weapon if the situation required it, she added silently. How her somewhat eccentric friend used bread in such a way was one of the mysteries of life.

Anyway, her fellow Templar didn’t need to know that little nugget of information.

He would be fine… probably.

* * *

 

**_Step 4: Drink with them._ **

When Elise told him that Shay to have a drink with his soulmate, this was not what she had in mind.

At all.

The only good thing about this was that her friend wasn’t as oblivious to Shay’s affections as she once thought.

The drunk Irishman was, for lack of better words, clinging onto a blushing and still somewhat sober Arno.

Unfortunately for the Templar matchmaker, the arrival of Arno’s protection squad accompanied by the murderous intent of the Assassins directed at her fellow Templar shot all her positive thoughts down.

Elise readied her pistol in a silent warning to the not so passive observers of the happy couple.

Her friend’s happiness was at stake. If there were casualties in the way, then so be it.

“Templar dog,” the one with the green coat hissed at her. Elise cocked her head. Perhaps, she was a dog, and a Templar one at that.

But she damn well was a loyal one.

And not just to the Templars.

The Assassins in front of her were going to find that out all too well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to shake off the awkwardness in my writing enough to write a M/M pairing. One of the main reasons I haven't written M/M pairings is because I thought it was just too awkward whenever I wrote it. But I managed to push on and write this chapter.
> 
> As for writing this chapter, I really did love writing a protective!Elise along with her being a matchmaker. Definitely a fun thing to write for sure!
> 
> Well, I hope this wasn't too bad. Thanks for reading!
> 
> A note to everyone being affected by Harvey: I hope you are all safe and clear from flooding, power outages, tornadoes, and electrocutions.


	29. Protectiveness [Elise x Fem!Arno]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmates were inherently protective of each other.
> 
> Elise de La Serre and Arno Dorian was a perfect example of this.
> 
> OR
> 
> In which Elise is Grandmaster of the Templar Order and Arno is Mentor of the Brotherhood. Somehow, they make it work.

Protectiveness.

Something everyone experienced at some point in their life whether it be for possessions or a person.

Soulmates were inherently protective of each other.

Elise de La Serre and Arno Dorian was a perfect example of this.

Arno tended to be more direct and headstrong in protecting those she cared about. On the other hand, Elise, like the Templar she was, used more manipulative and subtle ways to protect her loved ones.

Of course, their respective means of protecting sometimes went a step further when it came to their soulmate.

Elise remembered a particular instance of that happening all too well…

* * *

The Templar knew that someday she would be forced to choose between Arno and the Order.

But the choice between saving her dying lover’s life or potentially being exiled from the Order was suddenly real.

The gun that remained trained on the sneering scum of a Templar never shook even with the emotions running through Elise.

This man had done this to her soulmate.

To Arno.

Her finger made the simple motion of firing the gun with a sharp bang and the smell of gunpowder wafting through the air.

And Elise could not feel an inch of regret for killing a fellow Templar, even a sorry excuse of one. She took this as a sign to fire one more satisfactory bullet into the corpse.

“You’re going to be okay.” Elise confidently said to Arno. Her fingers were now digging through her bag for medicine and bandages.

She had to be okay. 

* * *

 The only thing Elise regretted about the pathetic man was the fact that she didn’t find a way to kill him sooner.

Well, at least dispose of him.

“Thinking about ways to conquer the world again, Elise?” the amused tone of Arno brought her back to the present. The simmering emotions that came with remembering the incident dissipated at the smile Arno gave Elise behind her hood.

“Along the lines of that.” she teased back. Arno had a funny way of twisting Assassin propaganda and making jokes even to Templars without offending them.

Elise would know that as she had seen Arno interacting with her fellow Templars including one Shay Cormac.

Speaking of the man, the redhead vaguely wondered why her soulmate didn’t try to kill Shay yet or at least threaten bodily harm. She apparently already knew about the man’s role in her father’s death.

Nevertheless, Elise was happy not to take care of the mess an Assassin killing the Order’s greatest Assassin Hunter would cause. 

* * *

"If I find you trying to assassinate her again, I’ll kill you.” The traitor looked at her in disbelief. Arno merely took a bite out of her baguette in response. She sighed in disappointment. It seemed like this conversation was ruining her appetite and even the taste of the delectable snack.

“You wouldn’t do that. You’re the Mentor, and she’s the-”

“The Grandmaster. Yes, I know that.” Arno said irritably. Why did everyone act like she was a ditzy woman who had no idea how to run the Brotherhood?

Oh, that’s right. Arno's relations with Elise. Well, either that or the fact  that she was a woman.

It was hard to tell at times.

“You’re abusing your power, you-”

“You disobeyed my direct orders,” Arno smirked in vindication, “I wonder how the Council would react to that. You know if there’s one thing they hate, it’s insubordination.”

The man, James if she remembered right, gulped nervously. A bead of sweat dripped down his face and off his nose.

A sign of weakness.

“I’ll let you off this time with only a demotion to the rank of Novice. You are dismissed.” James did not even voice any protest, as he nodded jerkily at her and stood from the chair hastily.

“Oh, and James,” the man froze in his very steps, “Do not ever mention my relations with Miss De La Serre again.”

“Yes, Mentor.” With a wave of her hand, James walked stiffly out of the room.

Arno sighed. Keeping peace between the Templars and Assassins was a two-man job. From backstabbing subordinates to factions, the drama never ceased even with herself killing Germain.

She truly was lucky to have her soulmate be by her side throughout it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this. Writing Protective!Elise and Protective!Arno is definitely interesting as well as writing from Elise's perspective at times. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!


	30. Pain for pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the universe decided that if you were going to fight against your soulmate, well you were going to be miserable while doing it.

It was a certain fact in life that the universe hated Arno Dorian.

Why else would it make her soulmate be Shay Cormac, practically the sworn enemy of all that she valued?

Worst, she had to fight the man while feeling like someone was stabbing her.

Repeatedly.

Because, yes, the universe dictated that if you were to fight against your soulmate, well you were going to be miserable while doing it.

And that was why she was currently slamming the Assassin Hunter against the wall of some random alley and headbutting him in the face after he tried to throw her off.

One of her hidden blades was already broken from taking the brunt of the force from Shay’s attacks. The man had skills when it came to dual-wielding the sword and dagger.

The same could unfortunately not be said for one Arno Dorian.

“I’m going to kill you,” she nearly growled at him through the pain. Oh, the pain. It wracked her trembling body now as she made her soulmate bleed.

“Sure thing, lass,” Shay smirked, “Just make sure to aim right, next time.” That smug-

She barely managed to dodge another dart from Shay’s air rifle. It was times like these did Arno wish she brought her GUilltoine GUn. Then, she could have just blown the man’s to bits with the mortar.

Then again, this battle would not be quite as satisfying as it would be when she won.

Arno felt a bullet knock into her chest only to meet resistance at the metal of her father’s pocket watch. She breathed in shock at how close of a call it was.

The only thing that was keeping her alive was the fact that Shay was going through even more pain as he stabbed her in the shoulder earlier.

Even so, she had the sneaking suspicion the man was holding back. He must have known the location of her father’s pocket watch with the chain being visible on her attire.

At this point, Arno was tempted just to grab Shay's air rifle and just shoot herself with its darts. Her pain tolerance, while acceptable, never was exceptional and this fight was getting ever so more confusing.

While the dazed man struggled to get up from her painful headbutt, she reloaded her phantom blade.

It was time to end this.

Only for another wave of pain to wrack her sore body once more as both the Assassin and Templar fell to the ground.

The last thing she saw was Shay lying unconscious on the ground before her vision turned black.

It looked like this fight would be concluded another day, she thought.

Secretly, a part of her didn’t mind that.


	31. Not so empty, after all [Arno x Baguette Boyband]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unspecified relationship for this one. You can interpret as you like.

Arno Dorian could see the legendary red string of fate.

He could not only see it but alter it as well.

To put it simply, he could alter the laws of the universe when it came to that little red string that could change history with its sheer power.

For all the power he had, Arno was helpless at the request of his best friend, Elise.

Did he forget to a mention soulmate as well?

Yes, Elise de La Serre was his soulmate yet she didn’t know. Their statuses in society were too different, and she would be scorned upon for being with him.

And that was why he was in between his soulmate and Shay Cormac to bind their red string together and severe the ones they had at the moment.

Arno carefully dragged his fingernail vertically across the thin string that bound him to Elise.

He knew that Elise would understand if he didn’t do this although she would be confused. But Arno...well he never could say no to her.

The delicate string severed and Arno could feel a part of himself be empty, not in a soul consuming way but just empty.

The Frenchman turned towards Shay Cormac with a neutral look on his face. Arno made short work of severing the red string Shay had with someone else and knotted it to Elise’s.

The newly formed crimson string glowed as it became visible to the happy couple for a moment before resuming towards its invisible state.

“Congratulations.” Arno forced a smile onto his face. It wasn’t that difficult considering how happy Elise was.

Her happiness was what’s important.

Later, did the reality finally hit him.

Elise was gone in a way.

Arno sipped his wine yet again with a melancholic look on his face. He always knew this would happen with Elise yet why did it hurt so much then?

“Are you okay, my friend?” An accented voice said. Arno turned towards Gabriel with a forced smile on his face.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” His mentor gave him a knowing look.

“I’m fine.” Arno insisted. He was indeed okay. His severed bond with Elise would just need time to get used to as well as accept it in the first place.

“I would recommend that you look at your hands then,” There was that look on Gabriel’s face…

Arno looked down at his hands and blanched at the red strings tied to his pinky.

“What-”

“Remember, Arno. You can never truly defy the universe.” Gabriel was obviously smug. After all, his red string was connected to his mentors.

Yes, all of them.

Gabriel, Adrien, and even Phillip were now his soulmates.

“Did you do this?” Gabriel shook his head. Of course, they would never do such a thing without permission.

“Although, this development is not entirely unwelcome, brat.” That arrogant voice…

Greencoat.

“I’m twenty-five, Phillip.” he reminded the green-coat wearing man.

“Physically yes.” he smirked, “Mentally… I don’t think so.”

“Of course, you would believe that.” Arno rolled his eyes. A small smile was evident on his lips. The familiar banter was comforting in its way.

“Now, I think we all know who is the youngest among us...”

“Hey! You guys better not be talking about me.” Adrien said.

“How did you know?” Arno remarked only to be received with a playful glare from the ice cream loving man.

His friends and mentors bantered with one another around him. Arno couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest.

Maybe, he wasn’t so empty after all.


	32. CC [Baguette Boyband x Arno x ?]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shared Senses Soulmate AU

“Axeman?” Arno’s field of vision was fixed upon their target as she slowly rounded the corner, crouched.

“Check.” A brief flash of Gabriel’s viewpoint flooded her vision for a second before fading into her regular blue-tinted vision.

“Greencoat?” A bird’s eye view of the square along with the barrel of Phillip’s rifle became apparent.

“In position.”

“Icecream?” Having always been the slow one on “Communal Sense”, it was several seconds before she got the visual and verbal confirmation.

“Here.”

“CC is in position and ready.” she declared. Her proximity to the target had been established immediately. All Phillip had to to do was do his job now.

“Take the shot.” She relayed her field of vision to the man, as he took in both views of the square the target was in. Only Greencoat and Arno herself could handle having two visions at once. Senses such as smell and touch were easier. Well, maybe not touch…

It depended on the person’s mental state. Was it wrong for Arno to initially be surprised about Phillip, the person who always shot live ammunition at her while she ran away during training, being sane?

Arno shook her head. Pointless thoughts weren’t welcome during a mission. It was always so easy to get distracted with the sheer amount of information being processed by her brain.

Central Command, indeed.

Arno could feel Greencoat steady himself and aim. She prepared herself to run as she recognized who exactly was in Phillip's sight.

No, not the target. But someone else…

Her red scarf suddenly felt constricting against her throat. She absently loosened it.

_Hands gripped her throat tightly as her limbs jerked and Arno writhed desperately-_

Arno shut her eyes tightly, a migraine forming between her temples. Sometimes, she really hated doing this. It felt like this job was ruining her. But then Arno remembered why she was here:

To protect those she loved.

“CC, are you in the clear?” Adrien’s concerned voice was touching. Soulmates in the agency usually viewed each other as pawns with their shared senses.

Her headache intensified.

Why.... why couldn’t she just focus?

“Dough is ready for baking.” Arno ordered instead, a phrase used to signify the Assassin to take the shot.

Greencoat took the shot...

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Arno woke up to the all too familiar smell of tobacco and leather filling her senses.

“You bastard,” she stated to the darkness as if commenting the weather. It was important for her to be as detached as possible. Reacting would only encourage him.

“He really did want to be here for this,” Christopher Gist with his ragged hat and brown overcoat stepped out of the shadows, “But he had… prior engagements.”

“I bet he did.” Something akin to relief washed over Arno. But she didn’t let down her guard. Gist could break her physically, but him… he could break her mind entirely and reconstruct it.

Gist brought out a briefcase and opened it with the smooth finesse of a professional. A blindfold, headphones, a hood, speakers, and...oh she could see where this was going.

As was obvious, Arno had one blatantly glaring weakness.

In interrogation, overwhelming her with stimuli was impossible, but depriving her of it… well, it could potentially drive her insane.

She didn’t dare connect to the rest of her soulmates in fear of being unable to disconnect when the chemicals finally set in. The foreign numbness slowly blanketing her mind had made it harder and harder for her to process sensations.

Headphones were roughly placed on her head, and a hood enveloped her vision in darkness.

A hissing sound, most likely from the speakers, played in the background.

Arno sighed.

Well, this was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this idea from the Communal Sense in Assassin's Creed Unity. If this actually happened in the actual game, Communal Sense would be quite useful as an Assassin could easily relay the enemy's position. Thanks for reading!


	33. following the map that leads to you [Aiden Pearce x Fem!Desmond Miles]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the anonymous commenter who wanted Aiden Pearce x Fem!Desmond. 
> 
> By the way, I am really sorry if this absolutely is horrible and also that I took so long. I had a hard time writing this because I am not really confident in my writing skills nor of my characterization of these characters. Anyway, I'm just really sorry. I hope that this chapter is at least somewhat satisfying if you happen to be reading this.

**_< Blackout command sequence intiated>_ **

**_Loading…_ **

**_1_ **

**_2_ **

**_3_ **

**_Start?_ **

* * *

 Rome plummets into obsolete darkness with one single command.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

* * *

  ** _“Pull-ou-I don’t-how-just-DO-IT!”_**

Desmond- _or was it Altair after all, it was justsohardtotellnow_ \- blearily glared at Viddic’s scowling face.

Whoever made the scientist this upset... Desmond would need to thank them sometime.

After all, a break from the Animus was like a break from Hell.

“What do you want now, Viddic?” Not that he would provide a clear answer, of course.

“We need to transfer you to a different holding facility, Subject 17.”

 _You couldn’t just use the word ‘prison’_ , Desmond thought. She didn’t even bother thinking about the usual name ‘Subject 17’.

After all, Vidic was a scientist. A human being? Not so much. 

* * *

 Two armed guards and a certain grouchy scientist later, Desmond found herself being escorted by two armed guards in the hallway bathed in crimson light while Vidic was off kicking puppies or doing whatever he usually does.

Grunt Number 1 twitched at what was obviously a message coming through their communicator, while their counterpart, Grunt Number 2, stared stoically ahead.

“Remain quiet, Subject 17.”

“That-” Desmond heard a grunt to her left as the crimson light of the hallways seemed to dim with each passing second. A gunshot to her right made her stiffen as Altair’s presence surfaced in her anxiety.

Footsteps approaching her back made Desmond relax minutely before turning around swiftly and attempting to strike the throat of the potential hostile.

A fist gripped her wrist, and Altair’s memories began to flash before her eyes.

She gritted her teeth, in an attempt to get a hold of herself.

This wasn’t her.

In her distracted thoughts, Desmond neglected to see the man’s hand pull away, just barely brushing against her fingertips before falling back to his side.

And suddenly…

Everything became quiet.

The deafening noise in her head filled with the bustling streets of Masyaf and Malik’s annoyed voice were gone, like a distant memory.

“We don’t have much time.” The man’s voice was hoarse and terse, yet not entirely unfriendly.

“And who the hell are you?” she said, not acknowledging his statement.

“An ally.” He replied as the fabric of his mask moved with his speech. That symbol on the mask- _be careful_ \- reminded her of something.

With his coat swaying lightly and baton out, he offered his hand to her in both a silent offer and greeting.

Desmond stared at the offered hand. The distrustful presence of Altair practically screamed at her to not take it-don’t trust this man. Desmond couldn’t blame Altair for that exactly. With the man’s overall attire, the man looked shady enough for even puppies to shy away from.

But still, something about him and his presence made her feel something.

Trust.

Something she hadn’t felt in years.

Desmond took his hand. 

(And yet she failed to notice the warmth of her compass.)

_Foolish girl._

* * *

“What the bloody hell just happened?” said a perplexed and very much annoyed historian to the black screen.

“Trouble.” William Miles stated. His face showing only the slightest of emotions.

Fear. Concern. Anger.

For even he didn’t know what just happened to his daughter.


	34. Chapter 34

Patricia Brown clutched her can of soda tightly with one hand while typing in a passcode she managed to find during one of her hacking ventures.

The screen flickered black briefly before turning into a cool blue and opening a file tab. Pat clicked on the ‘confidential’ file label, and once again another passcode was needed and punched in again.

The process went on for several more seconds before finally loaded into a series of videos and texts.

 

> **Soulmates Research Study:**
> 
> **Subject [Sample] 17 - Altair, Ezio Auditore, Connor Kenway, Haytham Kenway, Edward Kenway**  
>  _Subject 17 has shown great prowess in her sessions in the Animus. Remarkably, all her ancestors she has synchronized with have proven to be soulmates with her. Bleeding effect appears to be unusually intense after Subject 17’s sessions along with the way it manifests. Hallucinations of Subject 17’s ancestors and their “smoky forms” have been reported by the subject. Suitable action and treatment have made this more manageable. Synchronization comes naturally to Subject 17 in her sessions in the Animus. More research is needed to truly unlock the potential here..._
> 
> **Lin Chen - Shao Jun**  
>  Lin Chen appears to have an affinity for dancing, not unlike her ancestor, Shao Jun, whose practice was more deadly. As with ancestor-descendant soulmate pairs, Lin Chen’s synchronization with Shao Jun has proven to be smooth and efficient. Although, certain difficulties have sprouted along the way. The Bleeding effect is one of them...
> 
> _ **Moussa Roberts - Baptiste** _  
>  _ Moussa Roberts appears to have a particular affinity to his ancestor, Baptiste. Cunning and always a trickster, Moussa appears to use the Bleeding Effect to his advantage in more ways than one. It is unknown on how the Bleeding Effect manifests for him, as the subject rarely mentions it, even under duress. Synchronization with his ancestor is the highest in the facility and Moussa had been a stellar participant, so far. Still, there is one sequence of Baptise’s memories needing to be sequenced. Further observation is needed for certainty... _
> 
> **Nathan Williams - Duncan Walpole**  
>  _The descendant of a traitor of the Assassins, Nathan Williams, has surprisingly been accepted among the research subjects of the Madrid Facility. Personality, as well as memories bleeding into the subject, have occurred as part of the Bleeding Effect. Synchronization is smoother than the average synchronization session yet the descendant appears to harbor conflict disrupting the sessions. Further insight is being put into this predicament. Nonetheless, progress is being made, and Duncan Walpole’s memories have proven to be insightful..._
> 
> **Callum Lynch - Aguilar de Nerha, Arno Dorian**  
>  _Callum Lynch has only been synchronized with her Spaniard Assassin ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha. Sadly, resources have been to insufficient to use the subject to access Arno Dorian’s memories. An unfortunate incident had previously caused the loss of the man’s memories, and it would be best to recover his memories post-haste. Synchronization is as smooth as always. Bleeding Effect is currently manageable with the appropriate drugs and therapy. Like Desmond Miles, Callum Lynch appears to have manifested her ancestors in the same ‘smoky form,' from what surveillance of her ‘episodes’ has shown us. Further investigation will be needed to investigate this phenomenon..._

Pat’s eyes scanned the list of names. Her eyes narrowed at ‘Subject 17’. That name-the video of an Abstergo team obtaining ‘samples’ of Desmond Miles’ body flashed through her mind’s eye. Once more, Pat glanced down at the list of names, only stopping at ‘Arno Dorian.'

Why…

Why did that name sound so familiar?

The Helix Research Analyst shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. Thinking too profoundly seemed only to intensify the bleed of Shay's memories-wait…

Shay.

Pat scrolled down hurriedly to the very bottom with one last pair of names staring boldly at her.

 

> **Patricia Brown - Shay Cormac**  
>  _A Helix Research Analyst at Abstergo Entertainment. Patricia Brown’s research has proven valuable to decimating the Assassin’s morale with Shay Cormac’s recorded memories. She had also achieved synchronization with Shay Patrick Cormac, a highly revered Master Templar, and Assassin Hunter. Previous analysts have been unable to synchronize with Shay Cormac. It is highly speculated that the soulmate bond could play a factor in this. As stated by my predecessors, further research should be highly invested into this..._

They knew.

_“About time you figured it out yourself, lass.”_

‘Well, feck.’ Pat couldn’t help but think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this out of the idea of the Helix Research Analyst going through files and finding things about the descendants being researched on. In this case, it is more about how soulmates affect the Bleeding Effect (kind of). Thanks for reading!


	35. Snippets [Lin, Moussa, Nathan, Emir, Cal]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Maria_and_Aguilars_Codex_1492:
> 
> I'm sorry that this request took so long... and also that the characters in here were out of character. Thank you for your patience!

Shao Jun had never met her soulmate until now.

Her descendant once again stumbled in her movements. Each step was bringing more and more of the painful memories to the surface.

Rage.

Anger.

Vengeance.

Lin had stopped in her movement suddenly at another’s presence in the room.

Shao Jun glanced at the man with dark skin and mischevious eyes.

“She walks with you.” A strange tone underlined the man’s words, and she knew.

Soulmate.

Baptiste, the man’s name was marked on her wrist in exotic writing.

Something in her chest knew that the man in front of her was him and yet not at the same time. 

* * *

 

Duncan Walpole smirked at his descendant, Nathan was the lad’s name.

“Why-”

“Soulmates are all just pretty words, and ideal romanticism,” He walked towards Nathan, “But you should know that. After all, years of searching and you end up here in this dastardly place.”

“You and that damned arrogance of yours will be the end of us.”

“I could say the same, brat.”

He sighed. Was this the hell the higher powers have put him in?

To be stuck with a brat who didn’t ever learn that history repeated itself.

Duncan could have sworn that the name on his wrist warmed briefly.

Why wouldn’t the lad ever listen to him?

Nathan would only get killed by the one he seeks. After all the same thing happened to Duncan. 

* * *

 

Yusuf felt a pang of sympathy for the man in front of him.

Callum Lynch was going through what his own soulmate had gone through.

It was difficult on Aguilar’s side too though.

The confusion and anger after experiencing one’s death could easily be taken out on the one who brought you here.

But still, Aguilar was holding back just as he himself had done.

Yusuf looked down at his soulmate on the floor. The glazed look in Emir’s eyes told him everything he needed to know.

_“Be at peace, brother.”_

* * *

 

Callum Lynch didn’t know what to feel.

His soulmates were dead, centuries ago. Long since buried under history and time.

He told himself that it was for the best.

Maria and Aguilar had their beginning and end.

Maria died with the Creed on her lips and determination in her eyes.

Aguilar died with her name on his lips and content in his eyes.

Cal would not mourn nor would he regret.

He must bury the past and move on.

But he still could not shake the ghosts that followed him.

_“Seguir adelante.”_


	36. done and over I [Shay x Fem!Arno]

Arno had many things in her life that were problematic. But all paled in comparison to one Jacob Frye and his pesky interest in her ward.

"Funny, how you won't even let me go near her." Jacob Frye remarked conversationally, but even the pleasant tone couldn't disguise the annoyance in his words.

"A boy like you isn't good for her," Arno answered simply.

The brat's eyes went dark, "Boy? Then, what would you be? An old hag, then?"

"Perhaps," Arno drawled, not even reacting, "You should go..."

"Oh, I will, love. When you permit me to go near that Initiate of yours..."

"Not a chance," Arno answered bluntly. A spark of irritation ignited in her chest. She had work to do and countless other things to do other than preventing some brat from going near her ward.

Having enough of this, Arno turned to walk away, only to freeze at Jacob's words, "Maybe, it isn't me that is the problem. But him. Are bad experiences with your soulmate the reason for pushing me away?"

"Whatever I had with him is nothing now. Good day, Monsieur Frye."

And the conversation was over with the slide of glass doors opening.

* * *

Unfortunately for Arno, it wasn't quite that simple. Jacob Frye continued to visit her office and being the pesky boy he was, tried to convince her to give him a chance.

She must say that he wasn't doing a good job at that.

"Jacob Frye, if you ask me one more time, I will personally-" Arno cut herself off when she turned around to be faced with him.

"Monsieur Cormac, what brings you here?" she asked politely. Be civil, Arno reminded herself. Elise asked her to be that way to maintain relations with the American branch.

"Nothing," he answered quickly before wincing slightly, "I mean-"

"You just wanted to check in. I understand."

"No, it's not that," Shay seemed to compose himself, "I want to give it another chance, lass."

"It didn't work out, and it will be the same way again."

"Is there another?"

"No," she answered despite the temptation to tell him otherwise or that it was none of his business. He was entitled to know, even if things in their relationship didn't work out, "There isn't anyone."

"I heard otherwise with Jacob Frye." Arno narrowed her eyes.

"Are you jealous?"

"Should I be?"

"There is nothing between us anymore, Shay." Arno stared at him straight in the eyes, "You betrayed me and lost my trust. There is no going back on that."

"I did it to protect you, lass."

"And it nearly got Elise killed!" Arno tried to hide the crack in her voice. The hot flush of embarrassment and frustration made her cheeks flush. Why did she have to be so weak when it came to him?

"She is alive, and so are you. I would do it all over again if it meant you were safe." Shay said, his voice deathly quiet and dark eyes searching. Arno felt the emotions that flooded to the surface die down. What was she doing, being this emotional?

"That is why we can't be together," Arno said bitterly, "A conflict of interest."

"Are you saying that you would rather have someone who would toss you aside?"

"Yes," Arno felt herself smile darkly, "That's exactly it."

_"The de la Serre family has my loyalty," she swore to the man in front of her._

_"And what is your name, love?"_

_"Arno. Arno Dorian."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a Modern AU and also has Jacob Frye being at the company. Whether he is a spy or not is up to you. Anyway, the basic role Arno has in this AU is more involved in the darker operations of the company's Parisian branch. Shay is basically Arno's American counterpart for the similar role in the American branch. Also, Jacob probably was a bit out of character. Technically, one of the implied pairings in this chapter was Jacob x Reader because Arno's ward was the Initiate (which is the Reader in this AU). Anyway, I felt tempted to write Shay x Fem!Arno as well as some bickering between Arno and Jacob, and this is what came out. I'm thinking of writing a Soulmate AU between Jacob and Arno (or a love triangle maybe). Not too sure about it, but I'm still thinking about it. Well, I hope this wasn't too bad. If you have any prompts or ideas (especially those that involve Shay and Arno. Although, any prompts or ideas are welcome), you would like me to write, feel free to let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!


	37. first summer heat [Established Relationship AU] [Shay x Fem!Arno]

"Go away," Arno groaned when her soulmate came closer. The creak of the floorboards signaled his arrival along with the spike of heat, which was entirely unwelcome in the summer air.

"And here I thought you would be happy to see me." She opened an eye in a half-hearted yet baleful glare. The curtains sheltered the room from most of the sun's unrelenting heat and light, but his amused face was still visible in the dim light.

"Come back in the winter." The terse statement was soon followed by Arno hurriedly going to a different room down the hall.

"So cold, lass," Shay called out as he followed her. Arno twitched at the increasingly frequent spikes of heat licking up her spine.

"I _wish_."

"You couldn't just give a hug?" Arno halted in her tracks and turned to face the enemy at the door. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to stare him down only to be received with a quirk of his lips and an amused look.

"Not funny," Arno almost whined. It was embarrassing, yes. But she was desperate.

New York was apparently not known for its moderate weather, unlike Paris.

Oh, sweet and lovely Paris. How she missed the beautiful yet merciless city that she called home.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of going back," Arno froze in her train of thought. How did he know-

"Because I know you, lass." His hand reached to ruffle her hair, and she stayed still. _Best to allow him just this once_ , she thought. Just as his hand was close, something pushed at her back and Arno felt heat envelop her.

"You tricked me," Arno accused as her voice was muffled by the fabric of his robes.

"Well, I missed you."

Arno's shoulders sagged in surrender. She never could say no to him, not when it came to moving to Fort Arsenal for the year and certainly not when it came to this, "I did too." She said honestly.

"I know a friend who knows a thing or two about making... ice cream." Arno immediately brought her head up with eyes practically sparkling.

"Really?"

"Aye, just remember to make me hot chocolate in the winter," Shay smiled down at her, "To return the favor," he said simply.

It wasn't the heat or promise of ice cream that had Arno immediately knowing her answer, "Of course, this winter." she promised as she stared into his dark eyes. Something inside them became more relaxed and relieved almost. A spark of guilt welled in her chest, but Arno knew she told the truth. And that was all she could do.

 _Not leaving_ , went unsaid between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how summer is like in New York, but Texan summers are pretty bad at 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Thinking back to how it was like in the summer down here in Houston, I am so glad that it is winter, right now. Well, thanks for reading!


	39. of satisfaction and disappointment [Edward Kenway & Reader] [Nathan x Reader]

You knew this was a bad, bad idea.

But, legal issues came about… and you were forced to follow some Abstergo grunt to the same place It was either that or be forcefully dragged into court for a case you couldn’t win.

“No one just quits Abstergo.” You had smiled wryly at the internet poster showing bolded white text. .Yes, it was the other way around.

Abstergo quits you.

And your shiny, black flats clicked against the marble floor. The loose, black suit jacket three sizes too large for you swallowed your figure like that of a cloak, while the sleeves of your dress shirt were rolled up to allow your hands movement.

The clerk gave you a scrutinizing look, which you unconsciously gave a toothy grin directed at-Edward.

The pirate’s presence ducked and weaved through the crevices of your mind-if presences could do such a thing- like that of a weasel. He was anxious-excited- not that you could blame him. The last time you had been in the building you got locked in a bunker and then almost assassinated.

The guard in front of you stopped as his radio crackled to life.

“Intruders-Northwest-ing-rein-men-nee-GAH-” A sickening yet familiar squelch could be heard in the background. The guard stiffened before taking off.

Your eyes followed the running man as you tried to process what happened.

Do you hear that?

You could practically feel Edward’s face grinning.

“What?” you muttered to yourself. You didn’t care anymore about appearances after spending three years with a British-Welsh!- pirate in your head.

Why, it’s the sound of opportunity knocking. And what a beautiful sound it is.

“For once, we can agree.” You pivoted on your feet and turned to go the opposite way.

Only to freeze at the lack of the clerk’s presence. The hair on the back of your neck prickled and a sinking feeling reached your gut.

Suddenly, you heard Edward curse and-

“I would stop if I were you.”

There was a sword pressed against your neck.

“L-listen! I don’t work here-” You cut yourself off as the sharp surface of the sword came closer to the skin of your neck.

“Oh, shut it, will you?” The annoyed, biting tone of the remark didn’t seem to be a question. You tried pondering this instead of the glaring fact that someone was trying to kill you… again.

“I’d recommend you listen. The last time you didn’t turned out badly.” The words came out of your mouth faster than you could process them.

You blinked once, twice before your eyes widened in horror.

Edward, you growled inwardly.

The second terrible realization was the identity of who was the in front of you.

Duncan Walpole.

Steeling yourself, you turned around slowly while ignoring the steadily increasing pressure of the metal against your neck. Your eyes made their way up from the bottom of dark cloak covering the majority of Duncan-or whoever he was- from view.

Finally, you forced yourself to look into those all too familiar-that arrogance- eyes.

Looking back while processing the recognizable sensation practically buzzing in your eyes, you never quite cared for soulmates. The scientific reason behind the impracticality of soulmate pairs always struck you as logical, so you paid no mind to the tearful couples that would meet around you, crying about colors and all these beautiful things.

(You saw colors too. The Animus- _Edward_ -allowed for the opportunity to experience them- _Colorsrealactualcolors_ -in the glorious reality of the past.)

But even the Animus could not recreate the sensation you felt at that very moment. It wasn’t pleasurable nor terrible. But it was-

“Well, shit.”

You didn’t know which one of you said it. But the angry, disdainful look on your soulmate’s face didn’t bring hurt.

Just disappointment.

This… this was what people spent their lives waiting for?

How realistic was this encounter?

The whispers of Edward Kenway filled your ears as did the familiar ringing. The lively music of the taverns of the old filled your numb mind, and you grinned- _notyourshisgrin_ \- with a biting edge to it.

The purse you held tightly in your grip slammed into your soulmate’s head with the subtlety of a freight train.

 _"Do you hear that?'"_ You asked Edward, not even waiting for a reply.

_"That's the sound of satisfaction."_

(The bark of laughter from Edward made the immensely satisfying hit all the more worth it.)


End file.
